VorbehaltvsvorbehaltenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,206
“Vorbehalt” frequency rank
#6,992
“vorbehalten” frequency rank
29198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorbehalt vorbehalten
Definition Bedenken/Einschränkung/Einwand gegen etwas jemandem oder sich selbst eine bestimmte Handlung/Maßnahme (für die Zukunft) offenlassen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Vorbehalt and vorbehalten apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Vorbehalt
11 ch
vorbehalten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vorbehalt is [ˈfoːɐ̯bəˌhalt] while vorbehalten is [ˈfoːɐ̯bəˌhaltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Vorbehalt” sits inside “vorbehalten”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorbehalt is recorded at frequency rank #22,206, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯bəˌhalt]. vorbehalten is at rank #6,992, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯bəˌhaltn̩].

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 29198, this pair ranks #1,771,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vorbehalt vs vorbehalten

Shared letters: abehlortv. Private to "Vorbehalt": -. Private to "vorbehalten": n.

"Vorbehalt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC  ·  "vorbehalten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorbehaltovrbehalt · vobrehalt · vorbbehalt · vorbeahlt · vorbehallt · vorbehaltt · vorbehatl · vorbehhalt
  • vorbehaltenovrbehalten · vobrehalten · vorbbehalten · vorbeahlten · vorbehaletn · vorbehallten · vorbehaltenn · vorbehaltne

Frequency comparison

Vorbehalt#22,206
vorbehalten#6,992

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vorbehalt" and "vorbehalten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vorbehalt" is a noun and "vorbehalten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vorbehalt" or "vorbehalten"?
"vorbehalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,992 in our German list, against #22,206 for "Vorbehalt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Vorbehalt vs vorbehalten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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