verschwandenvsverschwindendTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,779
“verschwanden” frequency rank
#33,375
“verschwindend” frequency rank
49154
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verschwanden verschwindend
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verschwinden Partizip Präsens des Verbs verschwinden

Where the eye mixes verschwanden and verschwindend

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. verschwanden runs 12 letters (CVCCCCCVCCVC) against verschwindend's 13 (CVCCCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
verschwanden
13 ch
verschwindend

Visual trap between verschwanden and verschwindend

A purely visual mix-up. verschwanden ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvandn̩]) and verschwindend ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪndn̩t]) 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 49154, 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]. verschwindend is at rank #33,375, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪndn̩t].

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 49154, this pair ranks #1,222,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verschwanden vs verschwindend

Shared letters: cdehnrsvw. Private to "verschwanden": a. Private to "verschwindend": i.

"verschwanden" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC  ·  "verschwindend" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verschwanden ← evrschwanden · vercshwanden · verrschwanden · verscchwanden · verschawnden · verschhwanden · verschwadnen · verschwandden
  • verschwindend ← evrschwindend · vercshwindend · verrschwindend · verscchwindend · verschhwindend · verschiwndend · verschwidnend · verschwinddend

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verschwanden" for "verschwindend" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃvandn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃvɪndn̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verschwanden" vs "verschwindend" - which ranks higher?
"verschwanden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,779 in our German list, against #33,375 for "verschwindend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "verschwindend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,222,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verschwanden" and "verschwindend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschwinde vs verschwindend". 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 #1,222,140 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