Which to use
“verbessern” and “verbissen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,747
- “verbessern” frequency rank
- #36,700
- “verbissen” frequency rank
- 39447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbessern | verbissen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | korrigieren; berichtigen; nach Fehlern suchen und diese entfernen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verbeißen |
Where the eye mixes verbessern and verbissen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: verbessern vs verbissen
A purely visual mix-up. verbessern ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɛsɐn]) and verbissen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩]) 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 39447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verbessern is recorded at frequency rank #2,747, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɛsɐn]. verbissen is at rank #36,700, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪsn̩].
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 39447, this pair ranks #1,536,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verbessern vs verbissen
Shared letters: benrsv. Private to "verbessern": -. Private to "verbissen": i.
"verbessern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "verbissen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verbessern ← evrbessern · vebressern · verbbessern · verbesern · verbesesrn · verbessenr · verbessernn · verbesserrn
- verbissen ← evrbissen · vebrissen · verbbissen · verbisen · verbisesn · verbissenn · verbissne · verbißen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verbessern" for "verbissen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verbessern" vs "verbissen" - which ranks higher?
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 "verbessern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verbissen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,536,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbessern" and "verbissen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbissen vs vermiesen". 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 #1,536,525 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.