vergebenvsvergebeneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,694
“vergeben” frequency rank
#39,099
“vergebene” frequency rank
41793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergeben vergebene
Definition mit einem Partner fest zusammenlebend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vergeben

Where the eye mixes vergeben and vergebene

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vergeben runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against vergebene's 9 (CVCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
vergeben
9 ch
vergebene

Why the eye confuses vergeben with vergebene

A purely visual mix-up. vergeben ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩]) and vergebene ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbənə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “vergeben” sits inside “vergebene”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergeben is recorded at frequency rank #2,694, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩]. vergebene is at rank #39,099, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbənə].

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 41793, this pair ranks #1,468,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vergeben vs vergebene

Shared letters: begnrv. Private to "vergeben": -. Private to "vergebene": -.

"vergeben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "vergebene" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergebenevrgeben · vegreben · veregben · vergbeen · vergebben · vergebenn · vergebne · vergeebn
  • vergebeneevrgebene · vegrebene · veregbene · vergbeene · vergebbene · vergebeen · vergebnee · vergeebne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vergeben" for "vergebene" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbənə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergeben" vs "vergebene" - which ranks higher?
"vergeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,694 in our German list, against #39,099 for "vergebene". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vergeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vergebene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,468,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergeben" and "vergebene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs vergebene". 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 #1,468,901 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