verdirbtvsverwirktConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,336
“verdirbt” frequency rank
#38,501
“verwirkt” frequency rank
69837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verdirbt verwirkt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verderben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs verwirken

Where the eye mixes verdirbt and verwirkt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. verdirbt and verwirkt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
verdirbt
8 ch
verwirkt

Visual trap between verdirbt and verwirkt

A purely visual mix-up. verdirbt ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɪʁpt]) and verwirkt ([fɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt]) 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 69837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verdirbt is recorded at frequency rank #31,336, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdɪʁpt]. verwirkt is at rank #38,501, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt].

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 69837, this pair ranks #464,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of verdirbt vs verwirkt

Shared letters: eirtv. Private to "verdirbt": bd. Private to "verwirkt": kw.

"verdirbt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "verwirkt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verdirbt ← evrdirbt · vedrirbt · verddirbt · verdibrt · verdirbbt · verdirbtt · verdirrbt · verdirtb
  • verwirkt ← evrwirkt · veriwrkt · verrwirkt · verwikrt · verwirkkt · verwirktt · verwirrkt · verwirtk

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "verdirbt" for "verwirkt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɪʁpt] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈvɪʁkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "verdirbt" vs "verwirkt" - which ranks higher?
"verdirbt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,336 in our German list, against #38,501 for "verwirkt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "verdirbt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verwirkt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #464,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verdirbt" and "verwirkt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verwarnt vs verwirkt". 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 #464,454 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