Which to use
“verderben” and “verwerfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,652
- “verderben” frequency rank
- #36,099
- “verwerfen” frequency rank
- 45751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verderben | verwerfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas unbrauchbar oder zunichte machen, speziell auch jemandem ein positives Gefühl nehmen | (nach reiflicher Überlegung) etwas aufgeben, nicht weiter verfolgen, weil es als nicht mehr annehmbar, brauchbar, durchführbar, geeignet, tauglich, realisierbar oder dergleichen befunden wird |
Where the eye mixes verderben and verwerfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verderben and verwerfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: verderben vs verwerfen
A purely visual mix-up. verderben ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɛʁbn̩]) and verwerfen ([fɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁfn̩]) 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 45751, 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]. verwerfen is at rank #36,099, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvɛʁfn̩].
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 45751, this pair ranks #1,342,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verderben vs verwerfen
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "verderben": bd. Private to "verwerfen": fw.
"verderben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verwerfen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verderben" and "verwerfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verderben" or "verwerfen"?
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 "verderben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verwerfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,342,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verderben" and "verwerfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwerfen vs verworren". 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 #1,342,456 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.