vermehrenvsvermeidenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vermehren” and “vermeiden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,198
“vermehren” frequency rank
#2,369
“vermeiden” frequency rank
16567
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vermehren vermeiden
Definition die Menge von etwas vergrößern oder auch mehr werden etwas wenn möglich nicht tun; so handeln, dass etwas möglichst nicht passiert

Where the eye mixes vermehren and vermeiden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vermehren (CVCCVCCVC) and vermeiden (CVCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
vermehren
9 ch
vermeiden

Look-alike desk: vermehren vs vermeiden

A purely visual mix-up. vermehren ([fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁən]) and vermeiden ([fɛɐ̯ˈmaɪ̯dn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16567, 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]. vermeiden is at rank #2,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmaɪ̯dn̩].

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 16567, this pair ranks #1,934,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vermehren vs vermeiden

Shared letters: emnrv. Private to "vermehren": h. Private to "vermeiden": di.

"vermehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vermeiden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vermehrenevrmehren · vemrehren · veremhren · vermehern · vermehhren · vermehrenn · vermehrne · vermehrren
  • vermeidenevrmeiden · vemreiden · veremiden · vermedien · vermeidden · vermeidenn · vermeidne · vermeiedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vermehren" and "vermeiden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈmaɪ̯dn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vermehren" or "vermeiden"?
"vermeiden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,369 in our German list, against #14,198 for "vermehren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vermehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vermeiden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,934,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vermehren" and "vermeiden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vermehren vs verwahren". 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 #1,934,776 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list