Which to use
“verspätet” is an adjective and “verspottet” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,704
- “verspätet” frequency rank
- #27,552
- “verspottet” frequency rank
- 42256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verspätet | verspottet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unplanmäßig spät, unpünktlich | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verspotten |
Where the eye mixes verspätet and verspottet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: verspätet vs verspottet
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verspätet is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpɛːtət] while verspottet is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpɔtət]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verspätet is recorded at frequency rank #14,704, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpɛːtət]. verspottet is at rank #27,552, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpɔtət].
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 42256, this pair ranks #1,455,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verspätet vs verspottet
Shared letters: eprstv. Private to "verspätet": ä. Private to "verspottet": o.
"verspätet" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "verspottet" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verspottet ← evrspottet · verpsottet · verrspottet · versopttet · verspotet · verspotett · verspottett · verspottte
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verspätet" for "verspottet" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verspätet" or "verspottet"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verspätet" and "verspottet" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verspätet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verspottet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,455,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verspätet" and "verspottet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verspätet vs verspäteten". 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 #1,455,000 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.