Which to use
“verpflichten” and “verpflichtend” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,390
- “verpflichten” frequency rank
- #24,182
- “verpflichtend” frequency rank
- 34572
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verpflichten | verpflichtend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in die Pflicht nehmen, etwas zu tun | Partizip Präsens des Verbs verpflichten |
Where the eye mixes verpflichten and verpflichtend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: verpflichten vs verpflichtend
A purely visual mix-up. verpflichten ([fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩]) and verpflichtend ([fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩t]) 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) - “verpflichten” sits inside “verpflichtend”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verpflichten is recorded at frequency rank #10,390, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩]. verpflichtend is at rank #24,182, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈp͡flɪçtn̩t].
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 34572, this pair ranks #1,660,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verpflichten vs verpflichtend
Shared letters: cefhilnprtv. Private to "verpflichten": -. Private to "verpflichtend": d.
"verpflichten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC · "verpflichtend" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verpflichten ← evrpflichten · veprflichten · verfplichten · verpfflichten · verpfilchten · verpflcihten · verpflicchten · verpflichetn
- verpflichtend ← evrpflichtend · veprflichtend · verfplichtend · verpfflichtend · verpfilchtend · verpflcihtend · verpflicchtend · verpflichetnd
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verpflichten" for "verpflichtend" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verpflichten" vs "verpflichtend" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verpflichtend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,660,186 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verpflichten" and "verpflichtend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verpflichtend vs verpflichtenden". 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 #1,660,186 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.