versiehtvsverspieltWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: versieht is a verb, verspielt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“versieht” is a verb and “verspielt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,289
“versieht” frequency rank
#14,703
“verspielt” frequency rank
54992
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versieht verspielt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs versehen nur spielen wollend, gern spielend; leicht ablenkbar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set versieht and verspielt apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
versieht
9 ch
verspielt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: versieht is [fɛɐ̯ˈziːt] while verspielt is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt]. 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 54992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

versieht is recorded at frequency rank #40,289, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈziːt]. verspielt is at rank #14,703, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt].

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 54992, this pair ranks #996,935 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of versieht vs verspielt

Shared letters: eirstv. Private to "versieht": h. Private to "verspielt": lp.

"versieht" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC  ·  "verspielt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versiehtevrsieht · veriseht · verrsieht · verseiht · versiehht · versiehtt · versieth · versihet
  • verspieltevrspielt · verpsielt · verrspielt · versipelt · verspeilt · verspiellt · verspieltt · verspietl

Frequency comparison

versieht#40,289
verspielt#14,703

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "versieht" and "verspielt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "versieht" is a verb and "verspielt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "versieht" or "verspielt"?
"verspielt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,703 in our German list, against #40,289 for "versieht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering versieht vs verspielt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “versieht”; for an adjective, it's “verspielt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “versieht” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list