verbliebvsverbliebenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verblieb is a verb, verblieben is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verblieb” is a verb and “verblieben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,431
“verblieb” frequency rank
#27,994
“verblieben” frequency rank
62425
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verblieb verblieben
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verbleiben übrig seiend, noch vorhanden

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
verblieb
10 ch
verblieben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

verblieb and verblieben form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “verblieb” sits inside “verblieben” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verblieb is recorded at frequency rank #34,431, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbliːp]. verblieben is at rank #27,994, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbliːbn̩].

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 62425, this pair ranks #713,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

verblieb#34,431
verblieben#27,994

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verblieb" and "verblieben" be used interchangeably?
No, "verblieb" and "verblieben" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering verblieb vs verblieben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verblieb”; for an adjective, it's “verblieben”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verblieb” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list