Which to use
“verborgenen” and “verbotenen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,113
- “verborgenen” frequency rank
- #16,858
- “verbotenen” frequency rank
- 34971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verborgenen | verbotenen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verborgen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verboten |
Where the eye mixes verborgenen and verbotenen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verborgenen runs 11 letters (CVCCVCCVCVC) against verbotenen's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verborgenen with verbotenen
A purely visual mix-up. verborgenen ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɔʁɡənən]) and verbotenen ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːtənən]) 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 34971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verborgenen is recorded at frequency rank #18,113, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɔʁɡənən]. verbotenen is at rank #16,858, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtənən].
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 34971, this pair ranks #1,651,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verborgenen vs verbotenen
Shared letters: benorv. Private to "verborgenen": g. Private to "verbotenen": t.
"verborgenen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC · "verbotenen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verborgenen ← evrborgenen · vebrorgenen · verbborgenen · verbogrenen · verboregnen · verborgeenn · verborgenenn · verborgenne
- verbotenen ← evrbotenen · vebrotenen · verbbotenen · verboetnen · verboteenn · verbotenenn · verbotennen · verbotneen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verborgenen" and "verbotenen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "verborgenen" vs "verbotenen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verborgenen" and "verbotenen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verborgenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verbotenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,651,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verborgenen" and "verbotenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbotenen vs verbotenes". 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 #1,651,080 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.