Which to use
“der” is a determiner and “derbe” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2
- “der” frequency rank
- #20,213
- “derbe” frequency rank
- 20215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | der | derbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | definiter Artikel (bestimmtes Geschlechtswort) | sehr gut, nicht schlecht |
Where the eye mixes der and derbe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between der and derbe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: der is [deːɐ̯] while derbe is [ˈdɛʁbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “der” sits inside “derbe”, and the parts of speech differ too (determiner vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
der is recorded at frequency rank #2, classified as adet, pronounced [deːɐ̯]. derbe is at rank #20,213, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛʁbə].
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 20215, this pair ranks #1,900,092 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of der vs derbe
Shared letters: der. Private to "der": -. Private to "derbe": b.
"der" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "derbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- derbe ← dderbe · debre · derbbe · dereb · derrbe · drebe · edrbe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "der" for "derbe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "der" vs "derbe" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "der" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derbe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,900,092 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "der" and "derbe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degree vs derbe". 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 #1,900,092 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.