Which to use
“vergebene” is an adjective and “vorgeben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,099
- “vergebene” frequency rank
- #21,475
- “vorgeben” frequency rank
- 60574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergebene | vorgeben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vergeben | eine Unwahrheit äußern und damit nur so tun als ob |
Where the eye mixes vergebene and vorgeben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vergebene runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against vorgeben's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between vergebene and vorgeben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vergebene is [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbənə] while vorgeben is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergebene is recorded at frequency rank #39,099, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbənə]. vorgeben is at rank #21,475, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːbn̩].
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 60574, this pair ranks #781,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vergebene vs vorgeben
Shared letters: begnrv. Private to "vergebene": -. Private to "vorgeben": o.
"vergebene" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "vorgeben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vergebene" for "vorgeben" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vergebene" or "vorgeben"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vergebene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorgeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #781,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergebene" and "vorgeben" 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 #781,910 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.