Which to use
“Deppen” is a noun and “derben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,040
- “Deppen” frequency rank
- #42,416
- “derben” frequency rank
- 56456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Deppen | derben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Depp | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs derb |
Where the eye mixes Deppen and derben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Deppen and derben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Deppen is [ˈdɛpn̩] 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Deppen is recorded at frequency rank #14,040, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛpn̩]. 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 56456, this pair ranks #939,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Deppen vs derben
Shared letters: den. Private to "Deppen": p. Private to "derben": br.
"Deppen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "derben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Deppen" for "derben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Deppen" vs "derben" - 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 "Deppen" 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 #939,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Deppen" 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 #939,488 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.