Which to use
“verschlagen” is an adjective and “verschlingen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,002
- “verschlagen” frequency rank
- #26,219
- “verschlingen” frequency rank
- 54221
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschlagen | verschlingen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf geschickte und verdeckte Art und Weise eigennützig | (auch übertragen) gierig oder hastig in sich aufnehmen, essen, fressen |
Where the eye mixes verschlagen and verschlingen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verschlagen runs 11 letters (CVCCCCCVCVC) against verschlingen's 12 (CVCCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verschlagen with verschlingen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschlagen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃlaːɡn̩] while verschlingen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃlɪŋən]. 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 54221, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschlagen is recorded at frequency rank #28,002, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃlaːɡn̩]. verschlingen is at rank #26,219, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃlɪŋən].
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 54221, this pair ranks #1,027,395 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschlagen vs verschlingen
Shared letters: ceghlnrsv. Private to "verschlagen": a. Private to "verschlingen": i.
"verschlagen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCVC · "verschlingen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschlagen ← evrschlagen · vercshlagen · verrschlagen · verscchlagen · verschalgen · verschhlagen · verschlaegn · verschlagenn
- verschlingen ← evrschlingen · vercshlingen · verrschlingen · verscchlingen · verschhlingen · verschilngen · verschlignen · verschlinegn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verschlagen" for "verschlingen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verschlagen" or "verschlingen" show up more?
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 "verschlagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschlingen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,027,395 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschlagen" and "verschlingen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschlingen vs verschlingt". 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 #1,027,395 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.