verzeihenvsvorzeigenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,200
“verzeihen” frequency rank
#33,899
“vorzeigen” frequency rank
46099
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verzeihen vorzeigen
Definition jemandem etwas nachsehen jemandem etwas zur Begutachtung oder Prüfung präsentieren/vorlegen

Where the eye mixes verzeihen and vorzeigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verzeihen and vorzeigen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
verzeihen
9 ch
vorzeigen

Visual trap between verzeihen and vorzeigen

A purely visual mix-up. verzeihen ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ən]) and vorzeigen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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 46099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verzeihen is recorded at frequency rank #12,200, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ən]. vorzeigen is at rank #33,899, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩].

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 46099, this pair ranks #1,330,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verzeihen vs vorzeigen

Shared letters: einrvz. Private to "verzeihen": h. Private to "vorzeigen": go.

"verzeihen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "vorzeigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verzeihenevrzeihen · verezihen · verrzeihen · verzehien · verzeiehn · verzeihenn · verzeihhen · verzeihne
  • vorzeigenovrzeigen · vorezigen · vorrzeigen · vorzegien · vorzeiegn · vorzeigenn · vorzeiggen · vorzeigne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verzeihen" for "vorzeigen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈt͡saɪ̯ən] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verzeihen" vs "vorzeigen" - which ranks higher?
"verzeihen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,200 in our German list, against #33,899 for "vorzeigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verzeihen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorzeigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,330,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verzeihen" and "vorzeigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorzeigen vs Vorzügen". 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 #1,330,667 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