probierenvsprobiertWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,840
“probieren” frequency rank
#6,227
“probiert” frequency rank
10067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature probieren probiert
Definition versuchen; testen; eine Probe machen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs probieren

Where the eye mixes probieren and probiert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. probieren runs 9 letters (CCVCVVCVC) against probiert's 8 (CCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
probieren
8 ch
probiert

Look-alike desk: probieren vs probiert

A purely visual mix-up. probieren ([pʁoˈbiːʁən]) and probiert ([pʁoˈbiːɐ̯t]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

probieren is recorded at frequency rank #3,840, classified as averb, pronounced [pʁoˈbiːʁən]. 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 10067, this pair ranks #1,976,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of probieren vs probiert

Shared letters: beiopr. Private to "probieren": n. Private to "probiert": t.

"probieren" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVVCVC  ·  "probiert" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • probieren ← porbieren · pprobieren · prboieren · probbieren · probeiren · probieern · probierenn · probierne
  • probiert ← porbiert · pprobiert · prboiert · probbiert · probeirt · probierrt · probiertt · probietr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "probieren" for "probiert" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([pʁoˈbiːʁən] versus [pʁoˈbiːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "probieren" vs "probiert" - which ranks higher?
"probieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,840 in our German list, against #6,227 for "probiert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "probieren" and "probiert" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "probieren" 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 #1,976,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "probieren" and "probiert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "probiert vs probierte". 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 #1,976,951 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