Which to use
“verboten” is an adjective and “verrotten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,132
- “verboten” frequency rank
- #48,596
- “verrotten” frequency rank
- 50728
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verboten | verrotten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht erlaubt | in den Zersetzungsprozess übergehen, bis aus organischem Material Humus/Erde geworden ist |
Where the eye mixes verboten and verrotten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verboten runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against verrotten's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verboten and verrotten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verboten is [fɛɐ̯ˈboːtn̩] while verrotten is [fɛɐ̯ˈʁɔtn̩]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50728, 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]. verrotten is at rank #48,596, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʁɔtn̩].
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 50728, this pair ranks #1,162,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verboten vs verrotten
Shared letters: enortv. Private to "verboten": b. Private to "verrotten": -.
"verboten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "verrotten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verboten" for "verrotten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verboten" vs "verrotten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verboten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verrotten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,162,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verboten" and "verrotten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verorten vs verrotten". 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 #1,162,738 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.