vorbeikommenvsvorbeikommtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,767
“vorbeikommen” frequency rank
#36,719
“vorbeikommt” frequency rank
54486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorbeikommen vorbeikommt
Definition kommen und dann wieder gehen, nur kurz besuchen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorbeikommen

Where the eye mixes vorbeikommen and vorbeikommt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vorbeikommen runs 12 letters (CVCCVVCVCCVC) against vorbeikommt's 11 (CVCCVVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
vorbeikommen
11 ch
vorbeikommt

Visual trap between vorbeikommen and vorbeikommt

A purely visual mix-up. vorbeikommen ([foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌkɔmən]) and vorbeikommt ([foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌkɔmt]) 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 54486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorbeikommen is recorded at frequency rank #17,767, classified as averb, pronounced [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌkɔmən]. vorbeikommt is at rank #36,719, tagged as averb, pronounced [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌkɔmt].

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 54486, this pair ranks #1,017,020 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorbeikommen vs vorbeikommt

Shared letters: beikmorv. Private to "vorbeikommen": n. Private to "vorbeikommt": t.

"vorbeikommen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCCVC  ·  "vorbeikommt" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorbeikommen ← ovrbeikommen · vobreikommen · vorbbeikommen · vorbeikkommen · vorbeikmomen · vorbeikomemn · vorbeikomen · vorbeikommenn
  • vorbeikommt ← ovrbeikommt · vobreikommt · vorbbeikommt · vorbeikkommt · vorbeikmomt · vorbeikommtt · vorbeikomt · vorbeikomtm

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorbeikommen" and "vorbeikommt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌkɔmən] versus [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌkɔmt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vorbeikommen" vs "vorbeikommt" - which ranks higher?
"vorbeikommen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,767 in our German list, against #36,719 for "vorbeikommt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "vorbeikommen" and "vorbeikommt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorbeikommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorbeikommt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,017,020 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorbeikommen" and "vorbeikommt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorbeigekommen vs vorbeikommen". 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 #1,017,020 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