Which to use
“deep” and “derb” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,522
- “deep” frequency rank
- #42,415
- “derb” frequency rank
- 51937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deep | derb |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tief | unverdorben, kräftig |
Where the eye mixes deep and derb
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. deep (CVVC) and derb (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses deep with derb
A purely visual mix-up. deep ([diːp]) and derb ([dɛʁp]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deep is recorded at frequency rank #9,522, classified as anadj, pronounced [diːp]. derb is at rank #42,415, tagged as anadj, pronounced [dɛʁp].
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 51937, this pair ranks #1,116,267 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deep vs derb
Shared letters: de. Private to "deep": p. Private to "derb": br.
"deep" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "derb" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deep" for "derb" ever safe?
Frequency check: "deep" vs "derb" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "deep" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,116,267 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deep" and "derb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derb vs dörr". 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 #1,116,267 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.