verschaffenvsverschafftWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,782
“verschaffen” frequency rank
#8,649
“verschafft” frequency rank
14431
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verschaffen verschafft
Definition sich etwas besorgen; dafür sorgen, dass jemand etwas bekommt Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verschaffen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verschaffen and verschafft apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
verschaffen
10 ch
verschafft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verschaffen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃafn̩]) and verschafft ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃaft]) 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 14431, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verschaffen is recorded at frequency rank #5,782, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃafn̩]. verschafft is at rank #8,649, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃaft].

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 14431, this pair ranks #1,951,267 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verschaffen vs verschafft

Shared letters: acefhrsv. Private to "verschaffen": n. Private to "verschafft": t.

"verschaffen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "verschafft" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verschaffenevrschaffen · vercshaffen · verrschaffen · verscahffen · verscchaffen · verschafefn · verschafen · verschaffenn
  • verschafftevrschafft · vercshafft · verrschafft · verscahfft · verscchafft · verschafftt · verschaft · verschaftf

Frequency comparison

verschaffen#5,782
verschafft#8,649

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verschaffen" and "verschafft" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃafn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃaft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verschaffen" or "verschafft"?
"verschaffen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,782 in our German list, against #8,649 for "verschafft". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verschaffen vs verschafft

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verschaffen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list