vergebevsvergebensWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vergebe is a verb, vergebens is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vergebe and vergebens apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
vergebe
9 ch
vergebens

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • vergebeevrgebe · vegrebe · veregbe · vergbee · vergebbe · vergeeb · verggebe · verrgebe
  • vergebensevrgebens · vegrebens · veregbens · vergbeens · vergebbens · vergebenns · vergebenss · vergebesn

Frequency comparison

vergebe#45,653
vergebens#16,862

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vergebe" and "vergebens" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vergebe" is a verb and "vergebens" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vergebe" or "vergebens"?
"vergebens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,862 in our German list, against #45,653 for "vergebe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vergebe vs vergebens

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vergebe”; for an adverb, it's “vergebens”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vergebe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list