VerbreitungvsVerbrennungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Verbreitung” and “Verbrennung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,549
“Verbreitung” frequency rank
#16,577
“Verbrennung” frequency rank
20126
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Verbreitung Verbrennung
Definition die (bewusste oder unbewusste) Handlung des Verbreitens; eine Sache weitergeben und somit vervielfachen Vernichtung von Gegenständen durch Feuer

Where the eye mixes Verbreitung and Verbrennung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Verbreitung (CVCCCVVCVCC) and Verbrennung (CVCCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

11 ch
Verbreitung
11 ch
Verbrennung

Why the eye confuses Verbreitung with Verbrennung

A purely visual mix-up. Verbreitung ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tʊŋ]) and Verbrennung ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛnʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Verbreitung is recorded at frequency rank #3,549, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tʊŋ]. Verbrennung is at rank #16,577, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛnʊŋ].

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 20126, this pair ranks #1,900,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Verbreitung vs Verbrennung

Shared letters: begnruv. Private to "Verbreitung": it. Private to "Verbrennung": -.

"Verbreitung" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVCC  ·  "Verbrennung" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Verbreitung ← evrbreitung · vebrreitung · verbbreitung · verberitung · verbreitnug · verbreittung · verbreitugn · verbreitungg
  • Verbrennung ← evrbrennung · vebrrennung · verbbrennung · verbernnung · verbrennnug · verbrennugn · verbrennungg · verbrennunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Verbreitung" for "Verbrennung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbʁaɪ̯tʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈbʁɛnʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Verbreitung" or "Verbrennung" show up more?
"Verbreitung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,549 in our German list, against #16,577 for "Verbrennung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Verbreitung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verbrennung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,900,978 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Verbreitung" and "Verbrennung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verblendung vs Verbrennung". 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 #1,900,978 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