verschwandvsverschwendeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,127
“verschwand” frequency rank
#40,933
“verschwende” frequency rank
48060
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verschwand verschwende
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verschwinden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verschwenden

Where the eye mixes verschwand and verschwende

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verschwand runs 10 letters (CVCCCCCVCC) against verschwende's 11 (CVCCCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
verschwand
11 ch
verschwende

Visual trap between verschwand and verschwende

A purely visual mix-up. verschwand ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvant]) and verschwende ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndə]) 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 48060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verschwand is recorded at frequency rank #7,127, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvant]. verschwende is at rank #40,933, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndə].

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 48060, this pair ranks #1,262,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verschwand vs verschwende

Shared letters: cdehnrsvw. Private to "verschwand": a. Private to "verschwende": -.

"verschwand" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCC  ·  "verschwende" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verschwand ← evrschwand · vercshwand · verrschwand · verscchwand · verschawnd · verschhwand · verschwadn · verschwandd
  • verschwende ← evrschwende · vercshwende · verrschwende · verscchwende · verschewnde · verschhwende · verschwedne · verschwendde

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verschwand" and "verschwende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvant] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɛndə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verschwand" or "verschwende"?
"verschwand" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,127 in our German list, against #40,933 for "verschwende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verschwand" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verschwende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,262,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verschwand" and "verschwende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschwende vs verschwendete". 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 #1,262,258 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