Which to use
“Verben” is a noun and “vorbei” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,448
- “Verben” frequency rank
- #627
- “vorbei” frequency rank
- 21075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Verben | vorbei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Verb | bereits zu einem Ende gekommen, vergangen |
Where the eye mixes Verben and vorbei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Verben (CVCCVC) and vorbei (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Verben vs vorbei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verben is [ˈvɛʁbn̩] while vorbei is [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21075, 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]. vorbei is at rank #627, tagged as anadv, pronounced [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯].
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 21075, this pair ranks #1,890,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Verben vs vorbei
Shared letters: berv. Private to "Verben": n. Private to "vorbei": io.
"Verben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "vorbei" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Verben" and "vorbei" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Verben" or "vorbei" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Verben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorbei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,890,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Verben" and "vorbei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verben 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 #1,890,439 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.