vertreibenvsvertreibtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,806
“vertreiben” frequency rank
#14,979
“vertreibt” frequency rank
23785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertreiben vertreibt
Definition jemanden oder etwas dazu zwingen, einen Ort zu verlassen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs vertreiben

Where the eye mixes vertreiben and vertreibt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vertreiben runs 10 letters (CVCCCVVCVC) against vertreibt's 9 (CVCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vertreiben
9 ch
vertreibt

Visual trap between vertreiben and vertreibt

A purely visual mix-up. vertreiben ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and vertreibt ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯pt]) 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 23785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vertreiben is recorded at frequency rank #8,806, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩]. vertreibt is at rank #14,979, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯pt].

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 23785, this pair ranks #1,856,628 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vertreiben vs vertreibt

Shared letters: beirtv. Private to "vertreiben": n. Private to "vertreibt": -.

"vertreiben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC  ·  "vertreibt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertreiben ← evrtreiben · verrteiben · verrtreiben · verteriben · vertrebien · vertreibben · vertreibenn · vertreibne
  • vertreibt ← evrtreibt · verrteibt · verrtreibt · verteribt · vertrebit · vertreibbt · vertreibtt · vertreitb

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vertreiben" and "vertreibt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯bn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaɪ̯pt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vertreiben" or "vertreibt"?
"vertreiben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,806 in our German list, against #14,979 for "vertreibt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vertreiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertreibt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,856,628 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertreiben" and "vertreibt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verreist vs vertreibt". 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 #1,856,628 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list