verminvsversionTell them apart

Which to use

“vermin” and “version” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,642
“vermin” frequency rank
#917
“version” frequency rank
31559
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vermin version
Definition Any of various common types of small insects or other animals which cause harm and annoyance. A specific form or variation of something.

Where the eye mixes vermin and version

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
vermin
7 ch
version

Visual trap between vermin and version

A purely visual mix-up. vermin (/ˈvɝmɪn/) and version (/ˈvɜːʒn̩/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vermin is recorded at frequency rank #30,642, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈvɝmɪn/. version is at rank #917, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvɜːʒn̩/.

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 31559, this pair ranks #345,083 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vermin vs version

Shared letters: einrv. Private to "vermin": m. Private to "version": os.

"vermin" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "version" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verminevrmin · vemrin · verimn · verminn · vermmin · vermni · verrmin · vremin
  • versionevrsion · verison · verrsion · versino · versionn · versoin · verssion · vertion

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vermin" for "version" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈvɝmɪn/ versus /ˈvɜːʒn̩/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary English text, does "vermin" or "version" show up more?
"version" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #917 in our English list, against #30,642 for "vermin". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "vermin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "version" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #345,083 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vermin" and "version" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdun vs vermin". 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 #345,083 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list