VerweisvsverzeihConfusable pair

Quick tell: Verweis is a noun, verzeih is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Verweis” is a noun and “verzeih” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,393
“Verweis” frequency rank
#30,369
“verzeih” frequency rank
40762
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verweis verzeih
Definition Referenz auf etwas; Hinweis auf etwas anderes 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verzeihen

Where the eye mixes Verweis and verzeih

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Verweis and verzeih follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Verweis
7 ch
verzeih

Why the eye confuses Verweis with verzeih

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verweis is [fɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯s] while verzeih is [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40762, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verweis is recorded at frequency rank #10,393, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvaɪ̯s]. verzeih is at rank #30,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯].

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 40762, this pair ranks #1,499,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Verweis vs verzeih

Shared letters: eirv. Private to "Verweis": sw. Private to "verzeih": hz.

"Verweis" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "verzeih" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verweis ← evrweis · verewis · verrweis · verweiss · verwesi · verwweis · vewreis · vreweis
  • verzeih ← evrzeih · verezih · verrzeih · verzehi · verzeihh · verzzeih · vezreih · vrezeih

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Verweis" and "verzeih" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Verweis" is a noun and "verzeih" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Verweis" or "verzeih" show up more?
"Verweis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,393 in our German list, against #30,369 for "verzeih". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verweis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verzeih" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,499,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verweis" and "verzeih" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verzeih vs verzieh". 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 #1,499,048 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