VergabenvsVorhabenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,085
“Vergaben” frequency rank
#4,575
“Vorhaben” frequency rank
51660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vergaben Vorhaben
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vergabe das, was verwirklicht werden soll

Where the eye mixes Vergaben and Vorhaben

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

8 ch
Vergaben
8 ch
Vorhaben

Why the eye confuses Vergaben with Vorhaben

A purely visual mix-up. Vergaben ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbn̩]) and Vorhaben ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaːbn̩]) 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 51660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vergaben is recorded at frequency rank #47,085, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbn̩]. Vorhaben is at rank #4,575, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaːbn̩].

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 51660, this pair ranks #1,127,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Vergaben vs Vorhaben

Shared letters: abenrv. Private to "Vergaben": g. Private to "Vorhaben": ho.

"Vergaben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Vorhaben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vergaben ← evrgaben · vegraben · veragben · vergabben · vergabenn · vergabne · vergaebn · vergbaen
  • Vorhaben ← ovrhaben · vohraben · vorahben · vorhabben · vorhabenn · vorhabne · vorhaebn · vorhbaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vergaben" and "Vorhaben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaːbn̩] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Vergaben" or "Vorhaben"?
"Vorhaben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,575 in our German list, against #47,085 for "Vergaben". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vergaben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorhaben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,127,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vergaben" and "Vorhaben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs vergebe". 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 #1,127,038 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