Which to use
“verschulden” is a verb and “Verschuldung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,758
- “verschulden” frequency rank
- #21,827
- “Verschuldung” frequency rank
- 41585
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschulden | Verschuldung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas durch eigene Schuld verursachen, hervorrufen | Ausmaß, in dem sich eine Person, Organisation oder Institution fremdes Geld in Summe geliehen hat. |
Where the eye mixes verschulden and Verschuldung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between verschulden and Verschuldung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschulden is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʊldn̩] while Verschuldung is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʊldʊŋ]. 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 41585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschulden is recorded at frequency rank #19,758, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʊldn̩]. Verschuldung is at rank #21,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʊldʊŋ].
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 41585, this pair ranks #1,475,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschulden vs Verschuldung
Shared letters: cdehlnrsuv. Private to "verschulden": -. Private to "Verschuldung": g.
"verschulden" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC · "Verschuldung" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschulden ← evrschulden · vercshulden · verrschulden · verscchulden · verschhulden · verschluden · verschudlen · verschuldden
- Verschuldung ← evrschuldung · vercshuldung · verrschuldung · verscchuldung · verschhuldung · verschludung · verschudlung · verschulddung
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verschulden" for "Verschuldung" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verschulden" or "Verschuldung"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschulden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verschuldung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,475,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschulden" and "Verschuldung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschollen vs verschulden". 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 #1,475,076 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.