Which to use
“gefärbt” is a verb and “gefärbte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,912
- “gefärbt” frequency rank
- #29,138
- “gefärbte” frequency rank
- 39050
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefärbt | gefärbte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs färben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefärbt |
Where the eye mixes gefärbt and gefärbte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between gefärbt and gefärbte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gefärbt is [ɡəˈfɛʁpt] while gefärbte is [ɡəˈfɛʁptə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “gefärbt” sits inside “gefärbte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefärbt is recorded at frequency rank #9,912, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛʁpt]. gefärbte is at rank #29,138, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛʁptə].
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 39050, this pair ranks #1,547,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefärbt vs gefärbte
Shared letters: befgrtä. Private to "gefärbt": -. Private to "gefärbte": -.
"gefärbt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "gefärbte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gefärbt" and "gefärbte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "gefärbt" or "gefärbte" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefärbt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefärbte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,547,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefärbt" and "gefärbte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gefährte vs gefärbte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,547,457 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.