Which to use
“verschieden” is an adjective and “verschwenden” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,741
- “verschieden” frequency rank
- #12,820
- “verschwenden” frequency rank
- 19561
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschieden | verschwenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht gleich, andere Eigenschaften habend | unnötig viele Mittel, Ressourcen einsetzen; etwas erfolglos, sinnlos, planlos, unrationell aufwenden; vergeuden |
Where the eye mixes verschieden and verschwenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verschieden runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVVCVC) against verschwenden's 12 (CVCCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verschieden with verschwenden
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschieden is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃiːdn̩] while verschwenden is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndn̩]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19561, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschieden is recorded at frequency rank #6,741, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃiːdn̩]. 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 19561, this pair ranks #1,907,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verschieden vs verschwenden
Shared letters: cdehnrsv. Private to "verschieden": i. Private to "verschwenden": w.
"verschieden" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCVC · "verschwenden" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschieden ← evrschieden · vercshieden · verrschieden · verscchieden · verscheiden · verschhieden · verschideen · verschiedden
- verschwenden ← evrschwenden · vercshwenden · verrschwenden · verscchwenden · verschewnden · verschhwenden · verschwednen · verschwendden
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verschieden" for "verschwenden" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verschieden" or "verschwenden" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschieden" 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 #1,907,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschieden" 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 #1,907,055 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.