versöhnenvsVersöhnungTell them apart

Quick tell: versöhnen is a verb, Versöhnung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“versöhnen” is a verb and “Versöhnung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,553
“versöhnen” frequency rank
#14,706
“Versöhnung” frequency rank
42259
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature versöhnen Versöhnung
Definition jemanden veranlassen, mit jemandem nach einem Streit wieder Frieden zu schließen Wendung zwischen Personen zu einer mehrseitigen, positiven und dauerhaften Grundhaltung des gegenseitigen Vertrauens, der Bereitschaft zueinander zu stehen und/oder miteinander die Zukunft zu gestalten, die sich zuvor Verletzungen bzw. Schäden antaten und infolge ablehnend oder feindlich zueinander standen

Where the eye mixes versöhnen and Versöhnung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. versöhnen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against Versöhnung's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
versöhnen
10 ch
Versöhnung

Look-alike desk: versöhnen vs Versöhnung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: versöhnen is [fɛɐ̯ˈzøːnən] while Versöhnung is [fɛɐ̯ˈzøːnʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42259, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

versöhnen is recorded at frequency rank #27,553, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzøːnən]. Versöhnung is at rank #14,706, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈzøːnʊŋ].

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 42259, this pair ranks #1,454,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of versöhnen vs Versöhnung

Shared letters: ehnrsvö. Private to "versöhnen": -. Private to "Versöhnung": gu.

"versöhnen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "Versöhnung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "versöhnen" for "Versöhnung" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "versöhnen" is a verb and "Versöhnung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "versöhnen" or "Versöhnung" show up more?
"Versöhnung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,706 in our German list, against #27,553 for "versöhnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "versöhnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Versöhnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,454,920 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "versöhnen" and "Versöhnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschonen vs versöhnen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,454,920 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