Which to use
“verderben” and “vererben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,652
- “verderben” frequency rank
- #44,325
- “vererben” frequency rank
- 53977
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verderben | vererben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas unbrauchbar oder zunichte machen, speziell auch jemandem ein positives Gefühl nehmen | Werte von einer Person (Generation) an eine andere Person in Form eines Erbe übergeben |
Where the eye mixes verderben and vererben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verderben runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against vererben's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verderben and vererben
A purely visual mix-up. verderben ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɛʁbn̩]) and vererben ([fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verderben is recorded at frequency rank #9,652, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdɛʁbn̩]. vererben is at rank #44,325, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbn̩].
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 53977, this pair ranks #1,036,867 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verderben vs vererben
Shared letters: benrv. Private to "verderben": d. Private to "vererben": -.
"verderben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vererben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verderben" for "vererben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "verderben" vs "vererben" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verderben" and "vererben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verderben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vererben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,036,867 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verderben" and "vererben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vererben vs Vergaben". 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 #1,036,867 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.