verschreibenvsverschriebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,914
“verschreiben” frequency rank
#11,776
“verschrieben” frequency rank
40690
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verschreiben verschrieben
Definition beim Schreiben (aus Versehen) einen Fehler machen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs verschreiben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verschreiben and verschrieben apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
verschreiben
12 ch
verschrieben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

verschreiben and verschrieben form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (ei ↔ ie) - a transposition the eye reads straight past - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verschreiben is recorded at frequency rank #28,914, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]. verschrieben is at rank #11,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃʁiːbn̩].

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 40690, this pair ranks #1,501,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

verschreiben#28,914
verschrieben#11,776

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verschreiben" and "verschrieben" be used interchangeably?
No, "verschreiben" and "verschrieben" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering verschreiben vs verschrieben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verschreiben” 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