angeborenvsangeworbenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: angeboren is a adjective, angeworben is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“angeboren” is an adjective and “angeworben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,331
“angeboren” frequency rank
#37,958
“angeworben” frequency rank
80289
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature angeboren angeworben
Definition schon bei Geburt vorhanden Partizip Perfekt des Verbs anwerben

Where the eye mixes angeboren and angeworben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. angeboren runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCVC) against angeworben's 10 (VCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
angeboren
10 ch
angeworben

Why the eye confuses angeboren with angeworben

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: angeboren is [ˈanɡəˌboːʁən] while angeworben is [ˈanɡəˌvɔʁbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

angeboren is recorded at frequency rank #42,331, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌboːʁən]. angeworben is at rank #37,958, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈanɡəˌvɔʁbn̩].

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 80289, this pair ranks #198,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of angeboren vs angeworben

Shared letters: abegnor. Private to "angeboren": -. Private to "angeworben": w.

"angeboren" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "angeworben" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • angeboren ← agneboren · anegboren · angbeoren · angebboren · angeboern · angeborenn · angeborne · angeborren
  • angeworben ← agneworben · anegworben · angeowrben · angewobren · angeworbben · angeworbenn · angeworbne · angeworebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "angeboren" for "angeworben" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "angeboren" is an adjective and "angeworben" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "angeboren" or "angeworben"?
"angeworben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,958 in our German list, against #42,331 for "angeboren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "angeboren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "angeworben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #198,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "angeboren" and "angeworben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "angeboren vs Angebotes". 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 #198,676 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