VermehrungvsVermessungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,178
“Vermehrung” frequency rank
#28,452
“Vermessung” frequency rank
52630
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vermehrung Vermessung
Definition Wachstum, die Erzeugung von Identischem aus Vorhandenem das Abmessen von etwas

Where the eye mixes Vermehrung and Vermessung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Vermehrung and Vermessung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
Vermehrung
10 ch
Vermessung

Visual trap between Vermehrung and Vermessung

A purely visual mix-up. Vermehrung ([fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁʊŋ]) and Vermessung ([fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsʊŋ]) 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 52630, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vermehrung is recorded at frequency rank #24,178, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁʊŋ]. Vermessung is at rank #28,452, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsʊŋ].

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 52630, this pair ranks #1,089,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Vermehrung vs Vermessung

Shared letters: egmnruv. Private to "Vermehrung": h. Private to "Vermessung": s.

"Vermehrung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Vermessung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vermehrung ← evrmehrung · vemrehrung · veremhrung · vermehhrung · vermehrnug · vermehrrung · vermehrugn · vermehrungg
  • Vermessung ← evrmessung · vemressung · veremssung · vermessnug · vermessugn · vermessungg · vermessunng · vermesung

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vermehrung" and "Vermessung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈmeːʁʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Vermehrung" vs "Vermessung" - which ranks higher?
"Vermehrung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,178 in our German list, against #28,452 for "Vermessung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vermehrung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vermessung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,089,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vermehrung" and "Vermessung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vermählung vs Vermehrung". 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 #1,089,352 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