versehenvsversenkenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,566
“versehen” frequency rank
#22,951
“versenken” frequency rank
25517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versehen versenken
Definition jemanden oder etwas mit etwas ausstatten in einem anderen Objekt bündig verschwinden lassen

Where the eye mixes versehen and versenken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. versehen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against versenken's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
versehen
9 ch
versenken

Visual trap between versehen and versenken

A purely visual mix-up. versehen ([fɛɐ̯ˈzeːən]) and versenken ([fɛɐ̯ˈzɛŋkn̩]) 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 25517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

versehen is recorded at frequency rank #2,566, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzeːən]. versenken is at rank #22,951, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzɛŋkn̩].

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 25517, this pair ranks #1,832,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of versehen vs versenken

Shared letters: enrsv. Private to "versehen": h. Private to "versenken": k.

"versehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "versenken" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versehen ← evrsehen · vereshen · verrsehen · verseehn · versehenn · versehhen · versehne · versheen
  • versenken ← evrsenken · veresnken · verrsenken · verseknen · versenekn · versenkenn · versenkken · versenkne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "versehen" and "versenken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈzeːən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈzɛŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "versehen" vs "versenken" - which ranks higher?
"versehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,566 in our German list, against #22,951 for "versenken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "versehen" and "versenken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "versehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,832,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versehen" and "versenken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vermerken vs versenken". 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 #1,832,067 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