verschonenvsVersionenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verschonen is a verb, Versionen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verschonen” is a verb and “Versionen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,826
“verschonen” frequency rank
#6,120
“Versionen” frequency rank
53946
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verschonen Versionen
Definition jemanden/etwas von dem ausnehmen, was (im gleichen Zeitraum und aus gleichem Grund) einem anderen/anderem Schaden zufügt Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Version

Where the eye mixes verschonen and Versionen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

10 ch
verschonen
9 ch
Versionen

Why the eye confuses verschonen with Versionen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschonen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃoːnən] while Versionen is [vɛɐ̯ˈzi̯oːnən]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53946, 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]. Versionen is at rank #6,120, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vɛɐ̯ˈzi̯oːnən].

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 53946, this pair ranks #1,038,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verschonen vs Versionen

Shared letters: enorsv. Private to "verschonen": ch. Private to "Versionen": i.

"verschonen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVCVC  ·  "Versionen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verschonenevrschonen · vercshonen · verrschonen · verscchonen · verschhonen · verschnoen · verschoenn · verschonenn
  • Versionenevrsionen · verisonen · verrsionen · versinoen · versioenn · versionenn · versionne · versionnen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verschonen" and "Versionen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verschonen" is a verb and "Versionen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verschonen" or "Versionen"?
"Versionen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,120 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.

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 "verschonen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Versionen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,038,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verschonen" and "Versionen" 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 #1,038,067 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