VergebungvsVergütungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,580
“Vergebung” frequency rank
#12,193
“Vergütung” frequency rank
28773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vergebung Vergütung
Definition Akt des Verzeihens Geldsumme, mit der etwas vergütet wird; zum Beispiel Geld als Gegenleistung für eine Arbeit, Ware, Entschädigung oder ein Nutzungsrecht

Where the eye mixes Vergebung and Vergütung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Vergebung and Vergütung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
Vergebung
9 ch
Vergütung

Why the eye confuses Vergebung with Vergütung

A purely visual mix-up. Vergebung ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbʊŋ]) and Vergütung ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtʊŋ]) 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 28773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vergebung is recorded at frequency rank #16,580, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbʊŋ]. Vergütung is at rank #12,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtʊŋ].

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 28773, this pair ranks #1,778,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vergebung vs Vergütung

Shared letters: egnruv. Private to "Vergebung": b. Private to "Vergütung": tü.

"Vergebung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC  ·  "Vergütung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vergebung ← evrgebung · vegrebung · veregbung · vergbeung · vergebbung · vergebnug · vergebugn · vergebungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vergebung" and "Vergütung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːbʊŋ] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡyːtʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Vergebung" or "Vergütung"?
"Vergütung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,193 in our German list, against #16,580 for "Vergebung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vergebung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vergütung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,778,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vergebung" and "Vergütung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vergebene vs Vergebung". 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 #1,778,877 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