Which to use
“vergebe” is a verb and “vergebens” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #45,653
- “vergebe” frequency rank
- #16,862
- “vergebens” frequency rank
- 62515
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergebe | vergebens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vergeben | zu keinem Erfolg führend |
Where the eye mixes vergebe and vergebens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vergebe runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against vergebens's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between vergebe and vergebens
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vergebe is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbə] while vergebens is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “vergebe” sits inside “vergebens”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62515, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergebe is recorded at frequency rank #45,653, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbə]. vergebens is at rank #16,862, tagged as anadv, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩s].
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 62515, this pair ranks #710,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vergebe vs vergebens
Shared letters: begrv. Private to "vergebe": -. Private to "vergebens": ns.
"vergebe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "vergebens" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vergebe" and "vergebens" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "vergebe" or "vergebens" 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 "vergebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vergebens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #710,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergebe" and "vergebens" 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 #710,010 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.