VersvsvierTell them apart

Quick tell: Vers is a noun, vier is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Vers” is a noun and “vier” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,562
“Vers” frequency rank
#328
“vier” frequency rank
11890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vers vier
Definition metrisch-rhythmisch geformte Zeile eines Gedichts die Kardinalzahl zwischen drei und fünf

Where the eye mixes Vers and vier

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Vers
4 ch
vier

Look-alike desk: Vers vs vier

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vers is [fɛʁs] while vier is [fiːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vers is recorded at frequency rank #11,562, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛʁs]. vier is at rank #328, tagged as anum, pronounced [fiːɐ̯].

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 11890, this pair ranks #1,967,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vers vs vier

Shared letters: erv. Private to "Vers": s. Private to "vier": i.

"Vers" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "vier" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Versevrs · verrs · verss · vesr · vres · vvers
  • vieriver · veir · vierr · vire · vvier

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Vers" for "vier" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vers" is a noun and "vier" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Vers" or "vier" show up more?
"vier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #328 in our German list, against #11,562 for "Vers". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Vers" and "vier" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,967,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vers" and "vier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vas vs Vers". 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 #1,967,369 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