Which to use
“verschwanden” and “verschwende” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,779
- “verschwanden” frequency rank
- #40,933
- “verschwende” frequency rank
- 56712
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschwanden | verschwende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verschwinden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verschwenden |
Where the eye mixes verschwanden and verschwende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses verschwanden with verschwende
A purely visual mix-up. verschwanden ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvandn̩]) 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 56712, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verschwanden is recorded at frequency rank #15,779, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvandn̩]. 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 56712, this pair ranks #929,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschwanden vs verschwende
Shared letters: cdehnrsvw. Private to "verschwanden": a. Private to "verschwende": -.
"verschwanden" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC · "verschwende" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschwanden ← evrschwanden · vercshwanden · verrschwanden · verscchwanden · verschawnden · verschhwanden · verschwadnen · verschwandden
- verschwende ← evrschwende · vercshwende · verrschwende · verscchwende · verschewnde · verschhwende · verschwedne · verschwendde
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verschwanden" and "verschwende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verschwanden" or "verschwende" show up more?
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 "verschwanden" 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 #929,540 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verschwanden" 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 #929,540 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.