geworbenvsgeworfenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“geworben” and “geworfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,904
“geworben” frequency rank
#3,891
“geworfen” frequency rank
22795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geworben geworfen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs werben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs werfen

Where the eye mixes geworben and geworfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. geworben and geworfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
geworben
8 ch
geworfen

Visual trap between geworben and geworfen

A purely visual mix-up. geworben ([ɡəˈvɔʁbn̩]) and geworfen ([ɡəˈvɔʁfn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - b in “geworben” becomes f in “geworfen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geworben is recorded at frequency rank #18,904, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvɔʁbn̩]. geworfen is at rank #3,891, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈvɔʁfn̩].

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 22795, this pair ranks #1,869,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of geworben vs geworfen

Shared letters: egnorw. Private to "geworben": b. Private to "geworfen": f.

"geworben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "geworfen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geworben ← egworben · geowrben · gewobren · geworbben · geworbenn · geworbne · geworebn · geworrben
  • geworfen ← egworfen · geowrfen · gewofren · geworefn · geworfenn · geworffen · geworfne · geworrfen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "geworben" and "geworfen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvɔʁbn̩] versus [ɡəˈvɔʁfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "geworben" or "geworfen" show up more?
"geworfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,891 in our German list, against #18,904 for "geworben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geworben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "geworfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,869,661 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geworben" and "geworfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gewerbes vs geworben". 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 #1,869,661 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list