Which to use
“verschulden” is a verb and “verschwunden” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,758
- “verschulden” frequency rank
- #3,624
- “verschwunden” frequency rank
- 23382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschulden | verschwunden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas durch eigene Schuld verursachen, hervorrufen | nicht mehr existent; verloren gegangen |
Where the eye mixes verschulden and verschwunden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. verschulden runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVCCVC) against verschwunden's 12 (CVCCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: verschulden vs verschwunden
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verschulden is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʊldn̩] while verschwunden is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvʊndn̩]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23382, 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]. verschwunden is at rank #3,624, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvʊndn̩].
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 23382, this pair ranks #1,862,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verschulden vs verschwunden
Shared letters: cdehnrsuv. Private to "verschulden": l. Private to "verschwunden": w.
"verschulden" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC · "verschwunden" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschulden ← evrschulden · vercshulden · verrschulden · verscchulden · verschhulden · verschluden · verschudlen · verschuldden
- verschwunden ← evrschwunden · vercshwunden · verrschwunden · verscchwunden · verschhwunden · verschuwnden · verschwnuden · verschwudnen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verschulden" and "verschwunden" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verschulden" or "verschwunden"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verschulden" and "verschwunden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verschulden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verschwunden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,862,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschulden" and "verschwunden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschwende vs verschwunden". 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 #1,862,019 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.