Which to use
“verboten” is an adjective and “Verbots” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,132
- “verboten” frequency rank
- #29,393
- “Verbots” frequency rank
- 31525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verboten | Verbots |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht erlaubt | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Verbot |
Where the eye mixes verboten and Verbots
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: verboten vs Verbots
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verboten is [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩] while Verbots is [fɛɐ̯ˈboːt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verboten is recorded at frequency rank #2,132, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩]. Verbots is at rank #29,393, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈboːt͡s].
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 31525, this pair ranks #1,726,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verboten vs Verbots
Shared letters: beortv. Private to "verboten": n. Private to "Verbots": s.
"verboten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "Verbots" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verboten" and "Verbots" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verboten" or "Verbots" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verboten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verbots" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,726,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verboten" and "Verbots" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verbots vs Verrats". 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 #1,726,329 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.