Which to use
“verwahren” and “verzehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,094
- “verwahren” frequency rank
- #28,919
- “verzehren” frequency rank
- 76013
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verwahren | verzehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (etwas für jemanden) vorübergehend in den eigenen sicheren Besitz übernehmen (nicht als Eigentum) | als Nahrung zu sich nehmen |
Where the eye mixes verwahren and verzehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verwahren and verzehren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between verwahren and verzehren
A purely visual mix-up. verwahren ([fɛɐ̯ˈvaːʁən]) and verzehren ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːʁən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76013, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verwahren is recorded at frequency rank #47,094, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvaːʁən]. verzehren is at rank #28,919, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈt͡seːʁən].
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 76013, this pair ranks #293,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of verwahren vs verzehren
Shared letters: ehnrv. Private to "verwahren": aw. Private to "verzehren": z.
"verwahren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verzehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verwahren" for "verzehren" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "verwahren" or "verzehren" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verwahren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verzehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #293,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verwahren" and "verzehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwahren vs Vorwahlen". 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 #293,859 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.