VerbrechensvsverbrochenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Verbrechens is a noun, verbrochen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Verbrechens” is a noun and “verbrochen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,446
“Verbrechens” frequency rank
#32,336
“verbrochen” frequency rank
49782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verbrechens verbrochen
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Verbrechen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verbrechen

Where the eye mixes Verbrechens and verbrochen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Verbrechens runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCCVCC) against verbrochen's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Verbrechens
10 ch
verbrochen

Look-alike desk: Verbrechens vs verbrochen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Verbrechens is [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩s] while verbrochen is [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɔxn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verbrechens is recorded at frequency rank #17,446, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛçn̩s]. verbrochen is at rank #32,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɔxn̩].

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 49782, this pair ranks #1,198,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Verbrechens vs verbrochen

Shared letters: bcehnrv. Private to "Verbrechens": s. Private to "verbrochen": o.

"Verbrechens" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "verbrochen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verbrechens ← evrbrechens · vebrrechens · verbbrechens · verberchens · verbrcehens · verbrecchens · verbrecehns · verbrechenns
  • verbrochen ← evrbrochen · vebrrochen · verbbrochen · verborchen · verbrcohen · verbrocchen · verbrocehn · verbrochenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Verbrechens" and "verbrochen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Verbrechens" is a noun and "verbrochen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Verbrechens" vs "verbrochen" - which ranks higher?
"Verbrechens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,446 in our German list, against #32,336 for "verbrochen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Verbrechens" and "verbrochen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verbrechens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verbrochen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,198,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verbrechens" and "verbrochen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verbrechern vs verbrochen". 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 #1,198,617 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