Which to use
“bergen” and “borgen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,944
- “bergen” frequency rank
- #46,534
- “borgen” frequency rank
- 50478
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bergen | borgen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | transitiv: | leihen, verleihen, etwas gegen Versprechen hergeben, jemandem vorübergehend etwas geben |
Where the eye mixes bergen and borgen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. bergen and borgen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between bergen and borgen
A purely visual mix-up. bergen ([ˈbɛʁɡn̩]) and borgen ([ˈbɔʁɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - e in “bergen” becomes o in “borgen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bergen is recorded at frequency rank #3,944, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɛʁɡn̩]. borgen is at rank #46,534, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɔʁɡn̩].
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 50478, this pair ranks #1,172,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bergen vs borgen
Shared letters: begnr. Private to "bergen": -. Private to "borgen": o.
"bergen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "borgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bergen" for "borgen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bergen" or "borgen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bergen" and "borgen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bergen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "borgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,172,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bergen" and "borgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "borgen vs Borneo". 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 #1,172,207 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.