verbietenvsverbreitenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,229
“verbieten” frequency rank
#4,838
“verbreiten” frequency rank
10067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbieten verbreiten
Definition Unterlassung fordern in einen großen Umkreis gelangen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verbieten and verbreiten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verbieten
10 ch
verbreiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verbieten ([fɛɐ̯ˈbiːtn̩]) and verbreiten ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]) 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.

verbieten is recorded at frequency rank #5,229, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbiːtn̩]. verbreiten is at rank #4,838, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩].

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 verbieten vs verbreiten

Shared letters: beinrtv. Private to "verbieten": -. Private to "verbreiten": -.

"verbieten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "verbreiten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbietenevrbieten · vebrieten · verbbieten · verbeiten · verbieetn · verbietenn · verbietne · verbietten
  • verbreitenevrbreiten · vebrreiten · verbbreiten · verberiten · verbreietn · verbreitenn · verbreitne · verbreitten

Frequency comparison

verbieten#5,229
verbreiten#4,838

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verbieten" and "verbreiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbiːtn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verbieten" or "verbreiten"?
"verbreiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,838 in our German list, against #5,229 for "verbieten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verbieten vs verbreiten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verbieten” 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