vertragenvsverträgtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,481
“vertragen” frequency rank
#16,036
“verträgt” frequency rank
25517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertragen verträgt
Definition eine unangenehme Situation oder etwas ohne körperlichen Schaden oder negative Gefühle mitmachen/aushalten können 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertragen

Where the eye mixes vertragen and verträgt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vertragen runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against verträgt's 8 (CVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
vertragen
8 ch
verträgt

Why the eye confuses vertragen with verträgt

A purely visual mix-up. vertragen ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and verträgt ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːkt]) 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 25517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vertragen is recorded at frequency rank #9,481, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩]. verträgt is at rank #16,036, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːkt].

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 25517, this pair ranks #1,832,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vertragen vs verträgt

Shared letters: egrtv. Private to "vertragen": an. Private to "verträgt": ä.

"vertragen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "verträgt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertragen ← evrtragen · verrtagen · verrtragen · vertargen · vertraegn · vertragenn · vertraggen · vertragne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vertragen" and "verträgt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vertragen" vs "verträgt" - which ranks higher?
"vertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,481 in our German list, against #16,036 for "verträgt". 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 "vertragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verträgt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,832,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertragen" and "verträgt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verträgt vs vertraust". 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 #1,832,067 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