Which to use
“verschreiben” and “vorschreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,914
- “verschreiben” frequency rank
- #19,080
- “vorschreiben” frequency rank
- 47994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verschreiben | vorschreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | beim Schreiben (aus Versehen) einen Fehler machen | jemandem Vorschriften machen; jemandem sagen, was er tun soll |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verschreiben and vorschreiben apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. verschreiben ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and vorschreiben ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 a single letter - e in “verschreiben” becomes o in “vorschreiben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47994, 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]. vorschreiben is at rank #19,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 47994, this pair ranks #1,264,616 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verschreiben vs vorschreiben
Shared letters: bcehinrsv. Private to "verschreiben": -. Private to "vorschreiben": o.
"verschreiben" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC · "vorschreiben" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verschreiben ← evrschreiben · vercshreiben · verrschreiben · verscchreiben · verscheriben · verschhreiben · verschrebien · verschreibben
- vorschreiben ← ovrschreiben · vorcshreiben · vorrschreiben · vorscchreiben · vorscheriben · vorschhreiben · vorschrebien · vorschreibben
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verschreiben" and "vorschreiben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "verschreiben" or "vorschreiben"?
Remembering verschreiben vs vorschreiben
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