Which to use
“verlieben” and “vertrieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,993
- “verlieben” frequency rank
- #8,153
- “vertrieben” frequency rank
- 20146
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verlieben | vertrieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | anfangen, für jemanden Liebe zu empfinden; etwas reizend, nett, schön finden | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vertreiben |
Where the eye mixes verlieben and vertrieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. verlieben runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against vertrieben's 10 (CVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verlieben with vertrieben
A purely visual mix-up. verlieben ([fɛɐ̯ˈliːbn̩]) and vertrieben ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁiːbn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20146, 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]. vertrieben is at rank #8,153, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁiːbn̩].
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 20146, this pair ranks #1,900,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of verlieben vs vertrieben
Shared letters: beinrv. Private to "verlieben": l. Private to "vertrieben": t.
"verlieben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "vertrieben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verlieben ← evrlieben · velrieben · verileben · verleiben · verlibeen · verliebben · verliebenn · verliebne
- vertrieben ← evrtrieben · verrtieben · verrtrieben · vertireben · vertribeen · vertriebben · vertriebenn · vertriebne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "verlieben" and "vertrieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "verlieben" or "vertrieben" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "verlieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vertrieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,900,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verlieben" and "vertrieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verlieben vs vermiesen". 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 #1,900,760 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.