verbleibtvsvertreibtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#21,817
“verbleibt” frequency rank
#14,979
“vertreibt” frequency rank
36796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbleibt vertreibt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verbleiben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertreiben

Where the eye mixes verbleibt and vertreibt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
verbleibt
9 ch
vertreibt

Look-alike desk: verbleibt vs vertreibt

A purely visual mix-up. verbleibt ([fɛɐ̯ˈblaɪ̯pt]) and vertreibt ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯pt]) 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 36796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbleibt is recorded at frequency rank #21,817, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈblaɪ̯pt]. vertreibt is at rank #14,979, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯pt].

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 36796, this pair ranks #1,606,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verbleibt vs vertreibt

Shared letters: beirtv. Private to "verbleibt": l. Private to "vertreibt": -.

"verbleibt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC  ·  "vertreibt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbleibtevrbleibt · vebrleibt · verbbleibt · verbelibt · verblebit · verbleibbt · verbleibtt · verbleitb
  • vertreibtevrtreibt · verrteibt · verrtreibt · verteribt · vertrebit · vertreibbt · vertreibtt · vertreitb

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verbleibt" for "vertreibt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈblaɪ̯pt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯pt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verbleibt" or "vertreibt" show up more?
"vertreibt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,979 in our German list, against #21,817 for "verbleibt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "verbleibt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertreibt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,606,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verbleibt" and "vertreibt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbleibt vs verklebt". 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 #1,606,506 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