Which to use
“derbe” is an adjective and “Derby” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,213
- “derbe” frequency rank
- #8,343
- “Derby” frequency rank
- 28556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | derbe | Derby |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sehr gut, nicht schlecht | jährlich stattfindende Pferderennen |
Where the eye mixes derbe and Derby
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses derbe with Derby
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: derbe is [ˈdɛʁbə] while Derby is [ˈdɛʁbi]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “derbe” becomes y in “Derby”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
derbe is recorded at frequency rank #20,213, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛʁbə]. Derby is at rank #8,343, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛʁbi].
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 28556, this pair ranks #1,782,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of derbe vs Derby
Shared letters: bder. Private to "derbe": -. Private to "Derby": y.
"derbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Derby" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "derbe" for "Derby" ever safe?
Frequency check: "derbe" vs "Derby" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "derbe" and "Derby" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "derbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Derby" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,782,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "derbe" and "Derby" 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 #1,782,689 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.