Which to use
“verdorben” is an adjective and “vererben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,767
- “verdorben” frequency rank
- #44,325
- “vererben” frequency rank
- 65092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdorben | vererben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | als Essen schlecht geworden, als Lebensmittel nicht mehr zum Verzehr geeignet | Werte von einer Person (Generation) an eine andere Person in Form eines Erbe übergeben |
Where the eye mixes verdorben and vererben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verdorben 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 verdorben and vererben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verdorben is [fɛɐ̯ˈdɔʁbn̩] while vererben is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verdorben is recorded at frequency rank #20,767, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈdɔʁbn̩]. 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 65092, this pair ranks #618,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verdorben vs vererben
Shared letters: benrv. Private to "verdorben": do. Private to "vererben": -.
"verdorben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "vererben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verdorben" and "vererben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verdorben" or "vererben"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdorben" 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 #618,800 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdorben" 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 #618,800 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.