vergebevsvergehtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,653
“vergebe” frequency rank
#9,827
“vergeht” frequency rank
55480
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergebe vergeht
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vergeben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vergehen

Where the eye mixes vergebe and vergeht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. vergebe (CVCCVCV) and vergeht (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
vergebe
7 ch
vergeht

Visual trap between vergebe and vergeht

A purely visual mix-up. vergebe ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbə]) and vergeht ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt]) 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 55480, 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]. vergeht is at rank #9,827, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt].

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 55480, this pair ranks #977,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vergebe vs vergeht

Shared letters: egrv. Private to "vergebe": b. Private to "vergeht": ht.

"vergebe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "vergeht" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergebeevrgebe · vegrebe · veregbe · vergbee · vergebbe · vergeeb · verggebe · verrgebe
  • vergehtevrgeht · vegreht · vereght · vergehht · vergehtt · vergeth · verggeht · verghet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vergebe" for "vergeht" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergebe" vs "vergeht" - which ranks higher?
"vergeht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,827 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vergebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vergeht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #977,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergebe" and "vergeht" 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 #977,899 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