Which to use
“verschonen” and “verschossen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,826
- “verschonen” frequency rank
- #39,107
- “verschossen” frequency rank
- 86933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschonen | verschossen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden/etwas von dem ausnehmen, was (im gleichen Zeitraum und aus gleichem Grund) einem anderen/anderem Schaden zufügt | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verschießen |
Where the eye mixes verschonen and verschossen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses verschonen with verschossen
A purely visual mix-up. verschonen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːnən]) and verschossen ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃɔsn̩]) 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 86933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschonen is recorded at frequency rank #47,826, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːnən]. verschossen is at rank #39,107, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃɔsn̩].
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 86933, this pair ranks #86,987 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of verschonen vs verschossen
Shared letters: cehnorsv. Private to "verschonen": -. Private to "verschossen": -.
"verschonen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC · "verschossen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschonen ← evrschonen · vercshonen · verrschonen · verscchonen · verschhonen · verschnoen · verschoenn · verschonenn
- verschossen ← evrschossen · vercshossen · verrschossen · verscchossen · verschhossen · verschosen · verschosesn · verschossenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verschonen" for "verschossen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verschonen" vs "verschossen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschonen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschossen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #86,987 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschonen" and "verschossen" 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 #86,987 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.