verbliebvsverlierWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,431
“verblieb” frequency rank
#38,490
“verlier” frequency rank
72921
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verblieb verlier
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verbleiben 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verlieren

Where the eye mixes verblieb and verlier

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
verblieb
7 ch
verlier

Visual trap between verblieb and verlier

A purely visual mix-up. verblieb ([fɛɐ̯ˈbliːp]) and verlier ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72921, 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]. verlier is at rank #38,490, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯].

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 72921, this pair ranks #374,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of verblieb vs verlier

Shared letters: eilrv. Private to "verblieb": b. Private to "verlier": -.

"verblieb" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC  ·  "verlier" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbliebevrblieb · vebrlieb · verbblieb · verbileb · verblibe · verbliebb · verbllieb · verlbieb
  • verlierevrlier · velrier · veriler · verleir · verlierr · verlire · verllier · verrlier

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verblieb" for "verlier" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbliːp] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈliːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "verblieb" or "verlier" show up more?
"verblieb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,431 in our German list, against #38,490 for "verlier". 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 "verblieb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verlier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #374,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verblieb" and "verlier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlier vs verzieh". 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 #374,763 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