poliertvsprobiertWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: poliert is a adjective, probiert is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“poliert” is an adjective and “probiert” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,806
“poliert” frequency rank
#6,227
“probiert” frequency rank
35033
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poliert probiert
Definition durch Reiben glänzend gemacht Partizip Perfekt des Verbs probieren

Where the eye mixes poliert and probiert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. poliert runs 7 letters (CVCVVCC) against probiert's 8 (CCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
poliert
8 ch
probiert

Look-alike desk: poliert vs probiert

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: poliert is [poˈliːɐ̯t] while probiert is [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯t]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poliert is recorded at frequency rank #28,806, classified as anadj, pronounced [poˈliːɐ̯t]. probiert is at rank #6,227, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯t].

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 35033, this pair ranks #1,649,629 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of poliert vs probiert

Shared letters: eioprt. Private to "poliert": l. Private to "probiert": b.

"poliert" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC  ·  "probiert" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poliert ← opliert · ploiert · poilert · poleirt · polierrt · poliertt · polietr · poliret
  • probiert ← porbiert · pprobiert · prboiert · probbiert · probeirt · probierrt · probiertt · probietr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poliert" and "probiert" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "poliert" is an adjective and "probiert" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "poliert" vs "probiert" - which ranks higher?
"probiert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,227 in our German list, against #28,806 for "poliert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "poliert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "probiert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,649,629 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "poliert" and "probiert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poliert vs postiert". 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 #1,649,629 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