verwehrenvsverwerfenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,351
“verwehren” frequency rank
#36,099
“verwerfen” frequency rank
67450
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verwehren verwerfen
Definition nicht erlauben, nicht gestatten, verbieten, versperren; jemandem etwas nicht gewähren (nach reiflicher Überlegung) etwas aufgeben, nicht weiter verfolgen, weil es als nicht mehr annehmbar, brauchbar, durchführbar, geeignet, tauglich, realisierbar oder dergleichen befunden wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verwehren and verwerfen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verwehren
9 ch
verwerfen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verwehren ([fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]) and verwerfen ([fɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁfn̩]) 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 67450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verwehren is recorded at frequency rank #31,351, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən]. verwerfen is at rank #36,099, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁfn̩].

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 67450, this pair ranks #539,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verwehren vs verwerfen

Shared letters: enrvw. Private to "verwehren": h. Private to "verwerfen": f.

"verwehren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "verwerfen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verwehrenevrwehren · verewhren · verrwehren · verwehern · verwehhren · verwehrenn · verwehrne · verwehrren
  • verwerfenevrwerfen · verewrfen · verrwerfen · verwefren · verwerefn · verwerfenn · verwerffen · verwerfne

Frequency comparison

verwehren#31,351
verwerfen#36,099

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verwehren" and "verwerfen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈveːʁən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verwehren" or "verwerfen"?
"verwehren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,351 in our German list, against #36,099 for "verwerfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verwehren vs verwerfen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verwehren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list