Which to use
“vererben” is a verb and “Vererbung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,325
- “vererben” frequency rank
- #37,862
- “Vererbung” frequency rank
- 82187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vererben | Vererbung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Werte von einer Person (Generation) an eine andere Person in Form eines Erbe übergeben | Weitergabe von Merkmalen an die Nachkommen |
Where the eye mixes vererben and Vererbung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vererben runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against Vererbung's 9 (CVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vererben with Vererbung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vererben is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbn̩] while Vererbung is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vererben is recorded at frequency rank #44,325, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbn̩]. Vererbung is at rank #37,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔɛʁbʊŋ].
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 82187, this pair ranks #161,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vererben vs Vererbung
Shared letters: benrv. Private to "vererben": -. Private to "Vererbung": gu.
"vererben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "Vererbung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vererben" for "Vererbung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "vererben" or "Vererbung" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vererben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Vererbung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vererben" and "Vererbung" 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 #161,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.