verdientvsverdirbtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,097
“verdient” frequency rank
#31,336
“verdirbt” frequency rank
32433
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdient verdirbt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs verdienen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verderben

Where the eye mixes verdient and verdirbt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
verdient
8 ch
verdirbt

Look-alike desk: verdient vs verdirbt

A purely visual mix-up. verdient ([fɛɐ̯ˈdiːnt]) and verdirbt ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɪʁpt]) 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 32433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verdient is recorded at frequency rank #1,097, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdiːnt]. verdirbt is at rank #31,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdɪʁpt].

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 32433, this pair ranks #1,707,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verdient vs verdirbt

Shared letters: deirtv. Private to "verdient": n. Private to "verdirbt": b.

"verdient" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC  ·  "verdirbt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verdientevrdient · vedrient · verddient · verdeint · verdiennt · verdientt · verdietn · verdinet
  • verdirbtevrdirbt · vedrirbt · verddirbt · verdibrt · verdirbbt · verdirbtt · verdirrbt · verdirtb

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verdient" for "verdirbt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈdiːnt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈdɪʁpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verdient" or "verdirbt"?
"verdient" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,097 in our German list, against #31,336 for "verdirbt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verdient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verdirbt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,707,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verdient" and "verdirbt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdirbt vs verfärbt". 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 #1,707,662 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