Which to use
“vermehren” is a verb and “vermehrten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,198
- “vermehren” frequency rank
- #33,373
- “vermehrten” frequency rank
- 47571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vermehren | vermehrten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Menge von etwas vergrößern oder auch mehr werden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vermehrt |
Where the eye mixes vermehren and vermehrten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. vermehren runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against vermehrten's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vermehren with vermehrten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vermehren is [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁən] while vermehrten is [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːɐ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vermehren is recorded at frequency rank #14,198, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁən]. vermehrten is at rank #33,373, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːɐ̯tn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 47571, this pair ranks #1,279,646 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vermehren vs vermehrten
Shared letters: ehmnrv. Private to "vermehren": -. Private to "vermehrten": t.
"vermehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vermehrten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vermehren ← evrmehren · vemrehren · veremhren · vermehern · vermehhren · vermehrenn · vermehrne · vermehrren
- vermehrten ← evrmehrten · vemrehrten · veremhrten · vermehhrten · vermehretn · vermehrrten · vermehrtenn · vermehrtne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vermehren" for "vermehrten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vermehren" or "vermehrten"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vermehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vermehrten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,279,646 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vermehren" and "vermehrten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verehrter vs vermehrten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,279,646 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.