VerbenvsverbotenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Verben is a noun, verboten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Verben” is a noun and “verboten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,448
“Verben” frequency rank
#2,132
“verboten” frequency rank
22580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verben verboten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Verb nicht erlaubt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Verben and verboten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Verben
8 ch
verboten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verben is [ˈvɛʁbn̩] while verboten is [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verben is recorded at frequency rank #20,448, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɛʁbn̩]. verboten is at rank #2,132, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩].

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 22580, this pair ranks #1,872,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verben vs verboten

Shared letters: benrv. Private to "Verben": -. Private to "verboten": ot.

"Verben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "verboten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verbenevrben · vebren · verbben · verbenn · verbne · verebn · verrben · vreben
  • verbotenevrboten · vebroten · verbboten · verboetn · verbotenn · verbotne · verbotten · verbtoen

Frequency comparison

Verben#20,448
verboten#2,132

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Verben" and "verboten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Verben" is a noun and "verboten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Verben" or "verboten"?
"verboten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,132 in our German list, against #20,448 for "Verben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Verben vs verboten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Verben”; for an adjective, it's “verboten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Verben” 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