verschobenvsverschonenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,326
“verschoben” frequency rank
#47,826
“verschonen” frequency rank
53152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verschoben verschonen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verschieben jemanden/etwas von dem ausnehmen, was (im gleichen Zeitraum und aus gleichem Grund) einem anderen/anderem Schaden zufügt

Where the eye mixes verschoben and verschonen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

10 ch
verschoben
10 ch
verschonen

Visual trap between verschoben and verschonen

A purely visual mix-up. verschoben ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːbn̩]) and verschonen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːnən]) 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 a single letter - b in “verschoben” becomes n in “verschonen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verschoben is recorded at frequency rank #5,326, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːbn̩]. verschonen is at rank #47,826, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːnən].

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 53152, this pair ranks #1,069,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verschoben vs verschonen

Shared letters: cehnorsv. Private to "verschoben": b. Private to "verschonen": -.

"verschoben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC  ·  "verschonen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verschobenevrschoben · vercshoben · verrschoben · verscchoben · verschboen · verschhoben · verschobben · verschobenn
  • verschonenevrschonen · vercshonen · verrschonen · verscchonen · verschhonen · verschnoen · verschoenn · verschonenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verschoben" and "verschonen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːbn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verschoben" or "verschonen"?
"verschoben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,326 in our German list, against #47,826 for "verschonen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "verschoben" and "verschonen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verschoben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verschonen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,069,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verschoben" and "verschonen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschonen vs verschönert". 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 #1,069,176 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list