Which to use
“verderben” and “verwerten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,652
- “verderben” frequency rank
- #23,359
- “verwerten” frequency rank
- 33011
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verderben | verwerten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas unbrauchbar oder zunichte machen, speziell auch jemandem ein positives Gefühl nehmen | einer Nutzung zuführen |
Where the eye mixes verderben and verwerten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verderben and verwerten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between verderben and verwerten
A purely visual mix-up. verderben ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɛʁbn̩]) and verwerten ([fɛɐ̯ˈveːɐ̯tn̩]) 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 33011, 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]. verwerten is at rank #23,359, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈveːɐ̯tn̩].
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 33011, this pair ranks #1,695,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verderben vs verwerten
Shared letters: enrv. Private to "verderben": bd. Private to "verwerten": tw.
"verderben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verwerten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verderben" for "verwerten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verderben" or "verwerten"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "verderben" and "verwerten" 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 "verwerten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,695,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verderben" and "verwerten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwerten 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 #1,695,201 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.