Which to use
“verbannen” and “verbauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,758
- “verbannen” frequency rank
- #37,856
- “verbauen” frequency rank
- 61614
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbannen | verbauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden mit einem Bann belegen, jemand eines Gebiets verweisen | Material/Geld für einen Bau verbrauchen |
Where the eye mixes verbannen and verbauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verbannen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verbauen's 8 (CVCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verbannen with verbauen
A purely visual mix-up. verbannen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbanən]) and verbauen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən]) 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 61614, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verbannen is recorded at frequency rank #23,758, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbanən]. verbauen is at rank #37,856, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbaʊ̯ən].
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 61614, this pair ranks #743,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verbannen vs verbauen
Shared letters: abenrv. Private to "verbannen": -. Private to "verbauen": u.
"verbannen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verbauen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verbannen" for "verbauen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verbannen" or "verbauen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verbannen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verbauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #743,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbannen" and "verbauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbauen vs Vergaben". 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 #743,103 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.