VerbotvsVerboteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,794
“Verbot” frequency rank
#14,698
“Verbote” frequency rank
17492
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verbot Verbote
Definition strenge Aufforderung, eine Handlung oder Tätigkeit zu unterlassen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Verbot

Where the eye mixes Verbot and Verbote

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

6 ch
Verbot
7 ch
Verbote

Why the eye confuses Verbot with Verbote

A purely visual mix-up. Verbot ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːt]) and Verbote ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːtə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Verbot” sits inside “Verbote”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verbot is recorded at frequency rank #2,794, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːt]. Verbote is at rank #14,698, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtə].

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 17492, this pair ranks #1,926,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verbot vs Verbote

Shared letters: beortv. Private to "Verbot": -. Private to "Verbote": -.

"Verbot" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Verbote" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verbotevrbot · vebrot · verbbot · verbott · verbto · verobt · verrbot · vrebot
  • Verboteevrbote · vebrote · verbbote · verboet · verbotte · verbtoe · verobte · verrbote

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Verbot" and "Verbote" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈboːt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Verbot" vs "Verbote" - which ranks higher?
"Verbot" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,794 in our German list, against #14,698 for "Verbote". 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 "Verbot" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verbote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,926,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verbot" and "Verbote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verbote vs Vorboten". 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 #1,926,913 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