verbirgtvsverwirktWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,407
“verbirgt” frequency rank
#38,501
“verwirkt” frequency rank
50908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbirgt verwirkt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verbergen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verwirken

Where the eye mixes verbirgt and verwirkt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verbirgt and verwirkt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
verbirgt
8 ch
verwirkt

Why the eye confuses verbirgt with verwirkt

A purely visual mix-up. verbirgt ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪʁkt]) and verwirkt ([fɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt]) 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 50908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbirgt is recorded at frequency rank #12,407, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪʁkt]. verwirkt is at rank #38,501, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt].

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 50908, this pair ranks #1,155,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verbirgt vs verwirkt

Shared letters: eirtv. Private to "verbirgt": bg. Private to "verwirkt": kw.

"verbirgt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "verwirkt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbirgtevrbirgt · vebrirgt · verbbirgt · verbigrt · verbirggt · verbirgtt · verbirrgt · verbirtg
  • verwirktevrwirkt · veriwrkt · verrwirkt · verwikrt · verwirkkt · verwirktt · verwirrkt · verwirtk

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verbirgt" for "verwirkt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪʁkt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verbirgt" or "verwirkt"?
"verbirgt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,407 in our German list, against #38,501 for "verwirkt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "verbirgt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verwirkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,155,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verbirgt" and "verwirkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwarnt vs verwirkt". 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 #1,155,769 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list