Which to use
“verschieben” is a verb and “verschwiegen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,485
- “verschieben” frequency rank
- #13,057
- “verschwiegen” frequency rank
- 19542
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschieben | verschwiegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas über den Boden schiebend von einem an einen anderen Ort bewegen | fähig zu schweigen, ein Geheimnis für sich zu behalten |
Where the eye mixes verschieben and verschwiegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verschieben runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVVCVC) against verschwiegen's 12 (CVCCCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verschieben vs verschwiegen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschieben is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃiːbn̩] while verschwiegen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃviːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19542, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschieben is recorded at frequency rank #6,485, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃiːbn̩]. verschwiegen is at rank #13,057, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃviːɡn̩].
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 19542, this pair ranks #1,907,255 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verschieben vs verschwiegen
Shared letters: cehinrsv. Private to "verschieben": b. Private to "verschwiegen": gw.
"verschieben" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCVC · "verschwiegen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschieben ← evrschieben · vercshieben · verrschieben · verscchieben · verscheiben · verschhieben · verschibeen · verschiebben
- verschwiegen ← evrschwiegen · vercshwiegen · verrschwiegen · verscchwiegen · verschhwiegen · verschiwegen · verschwieegn · verschwiegenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verschieben" for "verschwiegen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verschieben" or "verschwiegen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwiegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,907,255 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschieben" and "verschwiegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschwiegen vs verschwimmen". 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 #1,907,255 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.