VertriebvsvertriebenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#6,121
“Vertrieb” frequency rank
#8,153
“vertrieben” frequency rank
14274
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vertrieb vertrieben
Definition Gesamtheit der Maßnahmen eines Unternehmens, die dem Absatz der hergestellten oder gehandelten Produkte auf dem Markt dienen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vertreiben

Where the eye mixes Vertrieb and vertrieben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Vertrieb
10 ch
vertrieben

Why the eye confuses Vertrieb with vertrieben

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vertrieb is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁiːp] while vertrieben is [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁiːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Vertrieb” sits inside “vertrieben”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vertrieb is recorded at frequency rank #6,121, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁiːp]. 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 14274, this pair ranks #1,952,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vertrieb vs vertrieben

Shared letters: beirtv. Private to "Vertrieb": -. Private to "vertrieben": n.

"Vertrieb" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC  ·  "vertrieben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vertriebevrtrieb · verrtieb · verrtrieb · vertireb · vertreib · vertribe · vertriebb · vertrrieb
  • vertriebenevrtrieben · verrtieben · verrtrieben · vertireben · vertribeen · vertriebben · vertriebenn · vertriebne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vertrieb" and "vertrieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vertrieb" is a noun and "vertrieben" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Vertrieb" or "vertrieben" show up more?
"Vertrieb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,121 in our German list, against #8,153 for "vertrieben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vertrieb" 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 #1,952,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vertrieb" and "vertrieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vertrieben vs Vertriebene". 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 #1,952,361 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