verratenvsvertragenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,928
“verraten” frequency rank
#9,481
“vertragen” frequency rank
13409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verraten vertragen
Definition jemandem ein Geheimnis oder eine vertrauliche Nachricht preisgeben eine unangenehme Situation oder etwas ohne körperlichen Schaden oder negative Gefühle mitmachen/aushalten können

Where the eye mixes verraten and vertragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verraten runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against vertragen's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
verraten
9 ch
vertragen

Visual trap between verraten and vertragen

A purely visual mix-up. verraten ([fɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩]) and vertragen ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 13409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verraten is recorded at frequency rank #3,928, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩]. vertragen is at rank #9,481, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩].

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 13409, this pair ranks #1,958,181 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verraten vs vertragen

Shared letters: aenrtv. Private to "verraten": -. Private to "vertragen": g.

"verraten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "vertragen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verraten ← evrraten · verarten · veraten · verraetn · verratenn · verratne · verratten · verrtaen
  • vertragen ← evrtragen · verrtagen · verrtragen · vertargen · vertraegn · vertragenn · vertraggen · vertragne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verraten" and "vertragen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʁaːtn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verraten" or "vertragen"?
"verraten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,928 in our German list, against #9,481 for "vertragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verraten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,181 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verraten" and "vertragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verjagen vs vertragen". 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 #1,958,181 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