VersvsVirusWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,562
“Vers” frequency rank
#4,083
“Virus” frequency rank
15645
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vers Virus
Definition metrisch-rhythmisch geformte Zeile eines Gedichts kleinster Krankheitserreger, der sich nur in Zellen vermehren kann

Where the eye mixes Vers and Virus

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

4 ch
Vers
5 ch
Virus

Why the eye confuses Vers with Virus

A purely visual mix-up. Vers ([fɛʁs]) and Virus ([ˈviːʁʊs]) 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 15645, 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]. Virus is at rank #4,083, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːʁʊs].

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 15645, this pair ranks #1,942,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vers vs Virus

Shared letters: rsv. Private to "Vers": e. Private to "Virus": iu.

"Vers" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Virus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Versevrs · verrs · verss · vesr · vres · vvers
  • Virusivrus · virrus · virsu · viruss · viurs · vrius · vvirus

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vers" and "Virus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛʁs] versus [ˈviːʁʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Vers" or "Virus"?
"Virus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,083 in our German list, against #11,562 for "Vers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Vers" and "Virus" 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 "Virus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,942,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vers" and "Virus" 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 #1,942,222 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