VergabevsVorgabenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,765
“Vergabe” frequency rank
#5,442
“Vorgaben” frequency rank
16207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vergabe Vorgaben
Definition Übertragung von etwas an eine Person, Institution oder einen Betrieb (oder an mehrere) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vorgabe

Where the eye mixes Vergabe and Vorgaben

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

7 ch
Vergabe
8 ch
Vorgaben

Look-alike desk: Vergabe vs Vorgaben

A purely visual mix-up. Vergabe ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbə]) and Vorgaben ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡaːbn̩]) 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 16207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vergabe is recorded at frequency rank #10,765, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbə]. Vorgaben is at rank #5,442, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡaːbn̩].

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 16207, this pair ranks #1,937,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vergabe vs Vorgaben

Shared letters: abegrv. Private to "Vergabe": -. Private to "Vorgaben": no.

"Vergabe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "Vorgaben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vergabeevrgabe · vegrabe · veragbe · vergabbe · vergaeb · vergbae · verggabe · verrgabe
  • Vorgabenovrgaben · vograben · voragben · vorgabben · vorgabenn · vorgabne · vorgaebn · vorgbaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vergabe" and "Vorgaben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbə] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡaːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Vergabe" or "Vorgaben" show up more?
"Vorgaben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,442 in our German list, against #10,765 for "Vergabe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Vergabe" and "Vorgaben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vergabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorgaben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,937,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vergabe" and "Vorgaben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergabe 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 #1,937,713 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