vertanvsviertenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,456
“vertan” frequency rank
#2,865
“vierten” frequency rank
31321
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertan vierten
Definition (als Ressource) ohne Erfolg eingesetzt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs vierte

Where the eye mixes vertan and vierten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
vertan
7 ch
vierten

Look-alike desk: vertan vs vierten

A purely visual mix-up. vertan ([fɛɐ̯ˈtaːn]) and vierten ([ˈfiːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 31321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vertan is recorded at frequency rank #28,456, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtaːn]. vierten is at rank #2,865, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯tn̩].

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 31321, this pair ranks #1,730,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vertan vs vierten

Shared letters: enrtv. Private to "vertan": a. Private to "vierten": i.

"vertan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "vierten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertanevrtan · veratn · verrtan · vertann · vertna · verttan · vetran · vretan
  • vierteniverten · veirten · vieretn · vierrten · viertenn · viertne · viertten · vietren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vertan" for "vierten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtaːn] versus [ˈfiːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vertan" vs "vierten" - which ranks higher?
"vierten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,865 in our German list, against #28,456 for "vertan". 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 "vertan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vierten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,730,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertan" and "vierten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "veritas vs vertan". 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 #1,730,494 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