verpassevsverpassenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,181
“verpasse” frequency rank
#5,127
“verpassen” frequency rank
29308
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verpasse verpassen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verpassen ein Ereignis nicht miterleben

Where the eye mixes verpasse and verpassen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verpasse runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against verpassen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
verpasse
9 ch
verpassen

Why the eye confuses verpasse with verpassen

A purely visual mix-up. verpasse ([fɛɐ̯ˈpasə]) and verpassen ([fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “verpasse” sits inside “verpassen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verpasse is recorded at frequency rank #24,181, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈpasə]. verpassen is at rank #5,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩].

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 29308, this pair ranks #1,769,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verpasse vs verpassen

Shared letters: aeprsv. Private to "verpasse": -. Private to "verpassen": n.

"verpasse" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "verpassen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verpasse ← evrpasse · veprasse · verapsse · verpase · verpases · verpaße · verppasse · verpsase
  • verpassen ← evrpassen · veprassen · verapssen · verpasen · verpasesn · verpassenn · verpassne · verpaßen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verpasse" and "verpassen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈpasə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈpasn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verpasse" or "verpassen"?
"verpassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,127 in our German list, against #24,181 for "verpasse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "verpasse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verpassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,769,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verpasse" and "verpassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verpasse vs Vorkasse". 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 #1,769,254 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