verliebenvsVorliebeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verlieben is a verb, Vorliebe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verlieben” is a verb and “Vorliebe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,993
“verlieben” frequency rank
#13,063
“Vorliebe” frequency rank
25056
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verlieben Vorliebe
Definition anfangen, für jemanden Liebe zu empfinden; etwas reizend, nett, schön finden ein besonderes Interesse für eine Person oder Sache

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verlieben and Vorliebe apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verlieben
8 ch
Vorliebe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verlieben is [fɛɐ̯ˈliːbn̩] while Vorliebe is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌliːbə]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25056, 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]. Vorliebe is at rank #13,063, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌliːbə].

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 25056, this pair ranks #1,838,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verlieben vs Vorliebe

Shared letters: beilrv. Private to "verlieben": n. Private to "Vorliebe": o.

"verlieben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "Vorliebe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verliebenevrlieben · velrieben · verileben · verleiben · verlibeen · verliebben · verliebenn · verliebne
  • Vorliebeovrliebe · volriebe · vorilebe · vorleibe · vorlibee · vorliebbe · vorlieeb · vorlliebe

Frequency comparison

verlieben#11,993
Vorliebe#13,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verlieben" and "Vorliebe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verlieben" is a verb and "Vorliebe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verlieben" or "Vorliebe"?
"verlieben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,993 in our German list, against #13,063 for "Vorliebe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verlieben vs Vorliebe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “verlieben”; for a noun, it's “Vorliebe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verlieben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list