Which to use
“decken” is a verb and “derben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,187
- “decken” frequency rank
- #42,416
- “derben” frequency rank
- 46603
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decken | derben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Dach) mit der wasserabweisenden Außenschicht versehen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs derb |
Where the eye mixes decken and derben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: decken vs derben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decken is [ˈdɛkn̩] while derben is [ˈdɛʁbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46603, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decken is recorded at frequency rank #4,187, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛkn̩]. derben is at rank #42,416, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛʁbn̩].
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 46603, this pair ranks #1,313,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decken vs derben
Shared letters: den. Private to "decken": ck. Private to "derben": br.
"decken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "derben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decken" for "derben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "decken" vs "derben" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,313,442 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decken" and "derben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derben vs Dorfen". 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 #1,313,442 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.