verstehen

/[fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]/ verb

Letters

9 characters

Frequency Rank

#590

in German word usage

Misspellings

14

tracked variants

Confusables

17

similar word pairs

verstehen is aGermanverb. It means: (Gesprochenes) deutlich akustisch wahrnehmen Pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]. It ranks #590 in German word frequency. Often confused with versteht and vorsehen.

Key facts for verstehen
PropertyValue
Headwordverstehen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]
Letters9
Frequency rank#590
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of verstehen in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for verstehen is 9 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]. Corpus data places it at rank #590 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 14 documented wrong-spelling variants for verstehen, with forms such as "evrstehen", "verrstehen", and "versethen". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "versteht", "vorsehen", "versuchen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is verstehen, spelled V-E-R-S-T-E-H-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    (Gesprochenes) deutlich akustisch wahrnehmen
  2. 2
    Anwendung einer intellektuellen Fähigkeit
  3. 3
    Anwendung einer intellektuellen Fähigkeit
  4. 4
    Anwendung einer intellektuellen Fähigkeit
  5. 5
    Anwendung einer intellektuellen Fähigkeit
  6. 6
    Anwendung einer intellektuellen Fähigkeit
  7. 7
    Anwendung einer emotionalen Fähigkeit
  8. 8
    Anwendung einer emotionalen Fähigkeit
  9. 9
    Anwendung einer emotionalen Fähigkeit
  10. 10
    ohne Streitigkeiten mit jemandem auskommen, eine gute persönliche Beziehung zu jemandem haben
  11. 11
    Befähigung zu Tätigkeiten
  12. 12
    Befähigung zu Tätigkeiten
  13. 13
    Befähigung zu Tätigkeiten
  14. 14
    Befähigung zu Tätigkeiten
  15. 15
    Befähigung zu Tätigkeiten
  16. 16
    sich überwindend zu etwas doch bereit erklären

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: evrstehen,verrstehen,versethen,versstehen,versteehn,verstehenn,verstehhen,verstehne,verstheen,versttehen,vertsehen,vesrtehen,vrestehen,vverstehen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for verstehen

Misspelling Variants of "verstehen"

evrstehen9verrstehen10versethen9versstehen10versteehn9verstehenn10verstehhen10verstehne9
Misspelling Variants of "verstehen"

Frequency rank: #590 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "verstehen"?
"verstehen" is spelled V-E-R-S-T-E-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən].
What does "verstehen" mean?
As a verb, "verstehen" means: (Gesprochenes) deutlich akustisch wahrnehmen
What words are commonly confused with "verstehen"?
"verstehen" is commonly confused with "versteht", "vorsehen", "versuchen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "verstehen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "verstehen" is [fɛɐ̯ˈʃteːən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "verstehen" come from?
"verstehen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter V in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.