Which to use
“verbleiben” and “vertreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,259
- “verbleiben” frequency rank
- #8,806
- “vertreiben” frequency rank
- 22065
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbleiben | vertreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich auf etwas verständigen | jemanden oder etwas dazu zwingen, einen Ort zu verlassen |
Where the eye mixes verbleiben and vertreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verbleiben and vertreiben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verbleiben with vertreiben
A purely visual mix-up. verbleiben ([fɛɐ̯ˈblaɪ̯bn̩]) and vertreiben ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 22065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verbleiben is recorded at frequency rank #13,259, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈblaɪ̯bn̩]. vertreiben is at rank #8,806, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 22065, this pair ranks #1,878,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verbleiben vs vertreiben
Shared letters: beinrv. Private to "verbleiben": l. Private to "vertreiben": t.
"verbleiben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC · "vertreiben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verbleiben ← evrbleiben · vebrleiben · verbbleiben · verbeliben · verblebien · verbleibben · verbleibenn · verbleibne
- vertreiben ← evrtreiben · verrteiben · verrtreiben · verteriben · vertrebien · vertreibben · vertreibenn · vertreibne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verbleiben" and "vertreiben" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "verbleiben" or "vertreiben" 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 "verbleiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vertreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,878,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbleiben" and "vertreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbleiben vs verleiten". 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 #1,878,789 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.