Which to use
“verbieten” and “verlieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,229
- “verbieten” frequency rank
- #11,993
- “verlieben” frequency rank
- 17222
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbieten | verlieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unterlassung fordern | anfangen, für jemanden Liebe zu empfinden; etwas reizend, nett, schön finden |
Where the eye mixes verbieten and verlieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: verbieten vs verlieben
A purely visual mix-up. verbieten ([fɛɐ̯ˈbiːtn̩]) and verlieben ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17222, 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]. verlieben is at rank #11,993, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːbn̩].
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 17222, this pair ranks #1,929,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verbieten vs verlieben
Shared letters: beinrv. Private to "verbieten": t. Private to "verlieben": l.
"verbieten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "verlieben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verbieten" for "verlieben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verbieten" vs "verlieben" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verbieten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verlieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,929,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbieten" and "verlieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlieben 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 #1,929,302 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.