Which to use
“verlieben” is a verb and “verliebten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,993
- “verlieben” frequency rank
- #32,343
- “verliebten” frequency rank
- 44336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlieben | verliebten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | anfangen, für jemanden Liebe zu empfinden; etwas reizend, nett, schön finden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verliebt |
Where the eye mixes verlieben and verliebten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. verlieben runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against verliebten's 10 (CVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verlieben with verliebten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verlieben is [fɛɐ̯ˈliːbn̩] while verliebten is [fɛɐ̯ˈliːptn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
verlieben is recorded at frequency rank #11,993, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːbn̩]. verliebten is at rank #32,343, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈliːptn̩].
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 44336, this pair ranks #1,389,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verlieben vs verliebten
Shared letters: beilnrv. Private to "verlieben": -. Private to "verliebten": t.
"verlieben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "verliebten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verlieben ← evrlieben · velrieben · verileben · verleiben · verlibeen · verliebben · verliebenn · verliebne
- verliebten ← evrliebten · velriebten · verilebten · verleibten · verlibeten · verliebbten · verliebetn · verliebtenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "verlieben" for "verliebten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "verlieben" or "verliebten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "verlieben" and "verliebten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verliebten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,389,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlieben" and "verliebten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verhielten vs verliebten". 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 #1,389,516 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.