Which to use
“verbrechen” is a verb and “Verbrecher” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,624
- “verbrechen” frequency rank
- #6,479
- “Verbrecher” frequency rank
- 9103
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbrechen | Verbrecher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Dummes, Unrechtes, Schlechtes tun | jemand, der [ein] Verbrechen begeht oder begangen hat |
Where the eye mixes verbrechen and Verbrecher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verbrechen and Verbrecher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses verbrechen with Verbrecher
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verbrechen is [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩] while Verbrecher is [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “verbrechen” becomes r in “Verbrecher”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verbrechen is recorded at frequency rank #2,624, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩]. Verbrecher is at rank #6,479, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçɐ].
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 9103, this pair ranks #1,981,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verbrechen vs Verbrecher
Shared letters: bcehrv. Private to "verbrechen": n. Private to "Verbrecher": -.
"verbrechen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "Verbrecher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verbrechen ← evrbrechen · vebrrechen · verbbrechen · verberchen · verbrcehen · verbrecchen · verbrecehn · verbrechenn
- Verbrecher ← evrbrecher · vebrrecher · verbbrecher · verbercher · verbrceher · verbreccher · verbrecehr · verbrecherr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verbrechen" and "Verbrecher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verbrechen" or "Verbrecher" 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 "verbrechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Verbrecher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,981,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbrechen" and "Verbrecher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbrechen vs verkriechen". 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 #1,981,460 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.