VorbauvsvorbeiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Vorbau is a noun, vorbei is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Vorbau” is a noun and “vorbei” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,107
“Vorbau” frequency rank
#627
“vorbei” frequency rank
47734
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorbau vorbei
Definition Gebäudeteil, der aus dem eigentlichen Kerngebäude herausragt bereits zu einem Ende gekommen, vergangen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Vorbau and vorbei apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Vorbau
6 ch
vorbei

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vorbau is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯] while vorbei is [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorbau is recorded at frequency rank #47,107, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯]. vorbei is at rank #627, tagged as anadv, pronounced [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯].

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 47734, this pair ranks #1,273,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Vorbau vs vorbei

Shared letters: borv. Private to "Vorbau": au. Private to "vorbei": ei.

"Vorbau" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "vorbei" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorbauovrbau · vobrau · vorabu · vorbbau · vorbua · vorrbau · vrobau · vvorbau
  • vorbeiovrbei · vobrei · vorbbei · vorbie · vorebi · vorrbei · vrobei · vvorbei

Frequency comparison

Vorbau#47,107
vorbei#627

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vorbau" and "vorbei" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vorbau" is a noun and "vorbei" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vorbau" or "vorbei"?
"vorbei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #627 in our German list, against #47,107 for "Vorbau". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Vorbau vs vorbei

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Vorbau”; for an adverb, it's “vorbei”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Vorbau” 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