PhobievsprobierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Phobie is a noun, probier is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Phobie” is a noun and “probier” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,137
“Phobie” frequency rank
#12,366
“probier” frequency rank
52503
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Phobie probier
Definition krankhafte Angst; krankhafte Furcht; eine unbegründete, anhaltende Angst vor Situationen, Gegenständen, Tätigkeiten oder Personen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs probieren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Phobie and probier apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Phobie
7 ch
probier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Phobie is [foˈbiː] while probier is [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Phobie is recorded at frequency rank #40,137, classified as anoun, pronounced [foˈbiː]. probier is at rank #12,366, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯].

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 52503, this pair ranks #1,094,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Phobie vs probier

Shared letters: beiop. Private to "Phobie": h. Private to "probier": r.

"Phobie" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV  ·  "probier" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Phobiehpobie · phboie · phhobie · phobbie · phobei · phoibe · pohbie · pphobie
  • probierporbier · pprobier · prboier · probbier · probeir · probierr · probire · proiber

Frequency comparison

Phobie#40,137
probier#12,366

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Phobie" and "probier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Phobie" is a noun and "probier" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Phobie" or "probier"?
"probier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,366 in our German list, against #40,137 for "Phobie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Phobie vs probier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Phobie”; for a verb, it's “probier”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Phobie” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list