I am having trouble understanding what is the difference between verpassen and verfehlen.
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1Typically, verpassen is missing something in time (by being too late), and verfehlen is missing something in space (by aiming to high, too low, too short, etc.).– Kilian FothCommented May 17, 2017 at 6:13
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3 Answers
Both etw. verpassen and etw. verfehlen translate to English miss sth. However, they are used in different contexts:
einen Zug/Bus etc. verpassen
= miss a train/bus etc.
ein Ziel verfehlen
= miss a goal/target
Verpassen can also be used with people, (jmd. verpassen). It also translates to miss sb. but only in the sense of "failing to reach sb." and not in a sense of feeling the absence of sb, which in German is jmd. vermissen.
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3As a hint, verpassen literally means people/things passed each other without touching (or even seeing), while verfehlen focuses on der Fehler done by missing a set goal.– JankaCommented May 16, 2017 at 17:35
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2@Janka Well, if you shoot an arrow and miss the target people would say Ich habe die Zielscheibe verfehlt, although verpasst would be okay, too, I guess.– adjanCommented May 16, 2017 at 17:38
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Thanks for the answer. Hi sorry if i am also to venture into a grammar question, but why is "Ich habe die Zielscheibe verfehlt" and not " Ich habe die Zielscheibe verfehlen" ?– Lor DanCommented May 16, 2017 at 17:42
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2Because Ich is 1st person singular, which requires to conjugate the verb accordingly, while verfehlen is the infinitive. But you should ask another question for that.– JankaCommented May 16, 2017 at 18:00
The two words, verpassen and verfehlen, both mean to "miss." But in slightly different ways.
"Verpassen" is to let something "pass" or get by, that you should have been able to get. One would use this to refer to a missed meeting with a person, or a deadline for a task, or a timetable for a train or bus.
"Verfehlen" has more of the connotation of failing to achieve something that was relatively uncertain to begin with. One might "verfehlen" to get a promotion, for instance.
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Can it be roughly said that verpassen is used for tangible missed things, while verfehlen is for intangibles? Commented May 17, 2017 at 6:48
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1@AdInfinitum: Not quite. I would think in turns of "elusiveness" rather than "tangibility." They are similar, but not the same. Example from adjan's answer: "Verpassen can also be used with people, (jmd. verpassen). It also translates to miss sb. but only in the sense of "failing to reach sb." and not in a sense of feeling the absence of sb,"– Tom AuCommented May 17, 2017 at 8:40
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That means even if there is no sharp distinction between these verbs, it is possible to differentiate by considering "elusiveness". I got the point thanks for your great comment + answer. Commented May 17, 2017 at 9:11
Here a collection of good phrases using verpassen and verfehlen.
Note that typically you cannot interchange verpassen and verfehlen in these phrases.
Verpassen:
eine Gelegenheit verpassen
eine Theatervorstellung verpassen
den richtigen Moment verpassen
den Zug/Bus/Flug verpassen, die Straßenbahn/Fähre verpassen
den Freund verpassen (während man auf ihn wartet, um ihn zu überraschen)
den Sonnenuntergang verpassen
As we see, all this seems to be related to time.
Verfehlen:
ein Ziel verfehlen
das Klassenziel verfehlen [typical expression used by teachers for students who will have to repeat a year at school due to insufficient learning results]
der Fußballer hat das Tor verfehlt
den rechten Ton verfehlen
den Treffpunkt verfehlen
das rechte Maß verfehlen
One could argue that this tends to be related to place/space, although Maß and Ton need some mental gymnastics to be seen in a place/space perspective.
Notably however
den rechten Augenblick verfehlen
sounds correct to me, although it would contradict the rule of time/space association.
answered May 17, 2017 at 10:37
