Which to use
“vermessen” is an adjective and “Vermessung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,068
- “vermessen” frequency rank
- #28,452
- “Vermessung” frequency rank
- 47520
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vermessen | Vermessung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | übermäßig ehrgeizig und deshalb riskant | das Abmessen von etwas |
Where the eye mixes vermessen and Vermessung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vermessen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against Vermessung's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vermessen with Vermessung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vermessen is [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩] while Vermessung is [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsʊŋ]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vermessen is recorded at frequency rank #19,068, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɛsn̩]. 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 47520, this pair ranks #1,281,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vermessen vs Vermessung
Shared letters: emnrsv. Private to "vermessen": -. Private to "Vermessung": gu.
"vermessen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "Vermessung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vermessen ← evrmessen · vemressen · veremssen · vermesen · vermesesn · vermessenn · vermessne · vermeßen
- Vermessung ← evrmessung · vemressung · veremssung · vermessnug · vermessugn · vermessungg · vermessunng · vermesung
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vermessen" and "Vermessung" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "vermessen" vs "Vermessung" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "vermessen" and "Vermessung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vermessen" 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 #1,281,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vermessen" and "Vermessung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vermessen vs vermiesen". 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 #1,281,406 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.