Which to use
“verschenken” and “verschwenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,149
- “verschenken” frequency rank
- #12,820
- “verschwenden” frequency rank
- 23969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschenken | verschwenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas zum Geschenk machen, jemandem etwas als Geschenk geben | unnötig viele Mittel, Ressourcen einsetzen; etwas erfolglos, sinnlos, planlos, unrationell aufwenden; vergeuden |
Where the eye mixes verschenken and verschwenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verschenken runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVCCVC) against verschwenden's 12 (CVCCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verschenken vs verschwenden
A purely visual mix-up. verschenken ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃɛŋkn̩]) and verschwenden ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndn̩]) 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 23969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschenken is recorded at frequency rank #11,149, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃɛŋkn̩]. verschwenden is at rank #12,820, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndn̩].
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 23969, this pair ranks #1,854,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verschenken vs verschwenden
Shared letters: cehnrsv. Private to "verschenken": k. Private to "verschwenden": dw.
"verschenken" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC · "verschwenden" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschenken ← evrschenken · vercshenken · verrschenken · verscchenken · verscehnken · verscheknen · verschenekn · verschenkenn
- verschwenden ← evrschwenden · vercshwenden · verrschwenden · verscchwenden · verschewnden · verschhwenden · verschwednen · verschwendden
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verschenken" and "verschwenden" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verschenken" or "verschwenden"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschenken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,854,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschenken" and "verschwenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschwenden vs verschwendete". 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 #1,854,074 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.