Which to use
“verbreiten” and “vertreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,838
- “verbreiten” frequency rank
- #8,806
- “vertreiben” frequency rank
- 13644
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verbreiten | vertreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einen großen Umkreis gelangen | jemanden oder etwas dazu zwingen, einen Ort zu verlassen |
Where the eye mixes verbreiten and vertreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verbreiten and vertreiben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verbreiten vs vertreiben
A purely visual mix-up. verbreiten ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and vertreiben ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verbreiten is recorded at frequency rank #4,838, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]. vertreiben is at rank #8,806, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 13644, this pair ranks #1,956,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verbreiten vs vertreiben
Shared letters: beinrtv. Private to "verbreiten": -. Private to "vertreiben": -.
"verbreiten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC · "vertreiben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verbreiten ← evrbreiten · vebrreiten · verbbreiten · verberiten · verbreietn · verbreitenn · verbreitne · verbreitten
- vertreiben ← evrtreiben · verrteiben · verrtreiben · verteriben · vertrebien · vertreibben · vertreibenn · vertreibne
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verbreiten" and "vertreiben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verbreiten" or "vertreiben"?
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 "verbreiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vertreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,956,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verbreiten" and "vertreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verbreite vs verbreiten". 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 #1,956,671 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.