Which to use
“verdorben” and “verstorben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,767
- “verdorben” frequency rank
- #9,114
- “verstorben” frequency rank
- 29881
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verdorben | verstorben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | als Essen schlecht geworden, als Lebensmittel nicht mehr zum Verzehr geeignet | zu leben aufgehört habend |
Where the eye mixes verdorben and verstorben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verdorben runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verstorben's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between verdorben and verstorben
A purely visual mix-up. verdorben ([fɛɐ̯ˈdɔʁbn̩]) and verstorben ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈʃtɔʁbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29881, 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]. verstorben is at rank #9,114, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈʃtɔʁbn̩].
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 29881, this pair ranks #1,758,471 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verdorben vs verstorben
Shared letters: benorv. Private to "verdorben": d. Private to "verstorben": st.
"verdorben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verstorben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verdorben ← evrdorben · vedrorben · verddorben · verdobren · verdorbben · verdorbenn · verdorbne · verdorebn
- verstorben ← evrstorben · verrstorben · versotrben · versstorben · verstobren · verstorbben · verstorbenn · verstorbne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verdorben" and "verstorben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "verdorben" or "verstorben"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "verdorben" and "verstorben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verdorben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verstorben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,758,471 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verdorben" and "verstorben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verdorben 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 #1,758,471 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.