vorgebenvsvorgegebenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#21,475
“vorgeben” frequency rank
#13,062
“vorgegeben” frequency rank
34537
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgeben vorgegeben
Definition eine Unwahrheit äußern und damit nur so tun als ob Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vorgeben

Where the eye mixes vorgeben and vorgegeben

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

8 ch
vorgeben
10 ch
vorgegeben

Visual trap between vorgeben and vorgegeben

A purely visual mix-up. vorgeben ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːbn̩]) and vorgegeben ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌɡeːbn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorgeben is recorded at frequency rank #21,475, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːbn̩]. vorgegeben is at rank #13,062, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌɡeːbn̩].

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 34537, this pair ranks #1,661,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorgeben vs vorgegeben

Shared letters: begnorv. Private to "vorgeben": -. Private to "vorgegeben": -.

"vorgeben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "vorgegeben" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgeben ← ovrgeben · vogreben · voregben · vorgbeen · vorgebben · vorgebenn · vorgebne · vorgeebn
  • vorgegeben ← ovrgegeben · vogregeben · voreggeben · vorgeegben · vorgegbeen · vorgegebben · vorgegebenn · vorgegebne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vorgeben" for "vorgegeben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌɡeːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorgeben" or "vorgegeben"?
"vorgegeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,062 in our German list, against #21,475 for "vorgeben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgegeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,661,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgeben" and "vorgegeben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vogesen vs vorgeben". 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 #1,661,060 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