Which to use
“verborgen” and “verboten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,345
- “verborgen” frequency rank
- #2,132
- “verboten” frequency rank
- 13477
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verborgen | verboten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aufgrund der versteckten, abgelegenen Lage schwer zu erreichen oder zu finden | nicht erlaubt |
Where the eye mixes verborgen and verboten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verborgen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verboten's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verborgen and verboten
A purely visual mix-up. verborgen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɔʁɡn̩]) and verboten ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩]) 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 13477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verborgen is recorded at frequency rank #11,345, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɔʁɡn̩]. verboten is at rank #2,132, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩].
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 13477, this pair ranks #1,957,740 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verborgen vs verboten
Shared letters: benorv. Private to "verborgen": g. Private to "verboten": t.
"verborgen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verboten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verborgen" for "verboten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verborgen" or "verboten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verborgen" and "verboten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verborgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verboten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,957,740 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verborgen" and "verboten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verborgen vs verworren". 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 #1,957,740 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.