versiehtvsverstehConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#40,289
“versieht” frequency rank
#4,008
“versteh” frequency rank
44297
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versieht versteh
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs versehen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verstehen

Where the eye mixes versieht and versteh

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. versieht runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCC) against versteh's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
versieht
7 ch
versteh

Look-alike desk: versieht vs versteh

A purely visual mix-up. versieht ([fɛɐ̯ˈziːt]) and versteh ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃteː]) 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 44297, 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]. versteh is at rank #4,008, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteː].

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 44297, this pair ranks #1,390,764 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of versieht vs versteh

Shared letters: ehrstv. Private to "versieht": i. Private to "versteh": -.

"versieht" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC  ·  "versteh" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • versieht ← evrsieht · veriseht · verrsieht · verseiht · versiehht · versiehtt · versieth · versihet
  • versteh ← evrsteh · verrsteh · verseth · verssteh · verstehh · versthe · verstteh · vertseh

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "versieht" for "versteh" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈziːt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "versieht" vs "versteh" - which ranks higher?
"versteh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,008 in our German list, against #40,289 for "versieht". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "versieht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "versteh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,390,764 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versieht" and "versteh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "versieht vs verzieh". 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 #1,390,764 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