vermissenvsvermisstenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vermissen is a verb, vermissten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vermissen” is a verb and “vermissten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,781
“vermissen” frequency rank
#17,449
“vermissten” frequency rank
23230
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vermissen vermissten
Definition feststellen, wahrnehmen, dass jemand oder etwas fehlt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs vermisst

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vermissen and vermissten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
vermissen
10 ch
vermissten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vermissen is [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪsn̩] while vermissten is [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪstn̩]. 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 23230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vermissen is recorded at frequency rank #5,781, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪsn̩]. vermissten is at rank #17,449, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈmɪstn̩].

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 23230, this pair ranks #1,864,021 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vermissen vs vermissten

Shared letters: eimnrsv. Private to "vermissen": -. Private to "vermissten": t.

"vermissen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vermissten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vermissenevrmissen · vemrissen · verimssen · vermisen · vermisesn · vermissenn · vermissne · vermißen
  • vermisstenevrmissten · vemrissten · verimssten · vermissetn · vermisstenn · vermisstne · vermisstten · vermisten

Frequency comparison

vermissen#5,781
vermissten#17,449

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vermissen" and "vermissten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vermissen" is a verb and "vermissten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vermissen" or "vermissten"?
"vermissen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,781 in our German list, against #17,449 for "vermissten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vermissen vs vermissten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vermissen”; for an adjective, it's “vermissten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vermissen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list