verpöntvsverwöhntWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,095
“verpönt” frequency rank
#14,707
“verwöhnt” frequency rank
50802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verpönt verwöhnt
Definition von der Gesellschaft, von anderen Menschen für schlecht gehalten, unerwünscht in einem Zustand befindlich, in dem man durch vorangegangenen Überfluss bestimmte Dinge nicht mehr zu schätzen weiß

Where the eye mixes verpönt and verwöhnt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verpönt runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against verwöhnt's 8 (CVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
verpönt
8 ch
verwöhnt

Visual trap between verpönt and verwöhnt

A purely visual mix-up. verpönt ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈpøːnt]) and verwöhnt ([fɛɐ̯ˈvøːnt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verpönt is recorded at frequency rank #36,095, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈpøːnt]. verwöhnt is at rank #14,707, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvøːnt].

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 50802, this pair ranks #1,159,874 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verpönt vs verwöhnt

Shared letters: enrtvö. Private to "verpönt": p. Private to "verwöhnt": hw.

"verpönt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "verwöhnt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verpönt" for "verwöhnt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈpøːnt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈvøːnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verpönt" or "verwöhnt"?
"verwöhnt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,707 in our German list, against #36,095 for "verpönt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verpönt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verwöhnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,159,874 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verpönt" and "verwöhnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verplant vs verpönt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,159,874 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