Which to use
“verweilen” and “verwerfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,449
- “verweilen” frequency rank
- #36,099
- “verwerfen” frequency rank
- 50548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verweilen | verwerfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an einem Ort bleiben | (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 eye mixes verweilen and verwerfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verweilen (CVCCVVCVC) and verwerfen (CVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses verweilen with verwerfen
A purely visual mix-up. verweilen ([fɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯lən]) 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 50548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verweilen is recorded at frequency rank #14,449, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯lən]. 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 50548, this pair ranks #1,169,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verweilen vs verwerfen
Shared letters: enrvw. Private to "verweilen": il. Private to "verwerfen": f.
"verweilen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "verwerfen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verweilen" and "verwerfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verweilen" or "verwerfen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verweilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verwerfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,169,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verweilen" and "verwerfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwerfen vs verworren". 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 #1,169,489 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.