Which to use
“verzeichnen” and “verzeihen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,295
- “verzeichnen” frequency rank
- #12,200
- “verzeihen” frequency rank
- 21495
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verzeichnen | verzeihen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas nicht korrekt zeichnen | jemandem etwas nachsehen |
Where the eye mixes verzeichnen and verzeihen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verzeichnen runs 11 letters (CVCCVVCCCVC) against verzeihen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verzeichnen and verzeihen
A purely visual mix-up. verzeichnen ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯çnən]) and verzeihen ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verzeichnen is recorded at frequency rank #9,295, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯çnən]. verzeihen is at rank #12,200, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ən].
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 21495, this pair ranks #1,885,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verzeichnen vs verzeihen
Shared letters: ehinrvz. Private to "verzeichnen": c. Private to "verzeihen": -.
"verzeichnen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCCCVC · "verzeihen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verzeichnen ← evrzeichnen · verezichnen · verrzeichnen · verzecihnen · verzeicchnen · verzeichenn · verzeichhnen · verzeichnenn
- verzeihen ← evrzeihen · verezihen · verrzeihen · verzehien · verzeiehn · verzeihenn · verzeihhen · verzeihne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verzeichnen" and "verzeihen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verzeichnen" or "verzeihen" show up more?
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 "verzeichnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verzeihen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,885,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verzeichnen" and "verzeihen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verrechnen vs verzeichnen". 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 #1,885,601 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.