VorliebevsVorliebenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,063
“Vorliebe” frequency rank
#15,787
“Vorlieben” frequency rank
28850
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorliebe Vorlieben
Definition ein besonderes Interesse für eine Person oder Sache Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vorliebe

Where the eye mixes Vorliebe and Vorlieben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Vorliebe runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against Vorlieben's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Vorliebe
9 ch
Vorlieben

Why the eye confuses Vorliebe with Vorlieben

A purely visual mix-up. Vorliebe ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌliːbə]) and Vorlieben ([ˈfoːɐ̯liːbən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Vorliebe” sits inside “Vorlieben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28850, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorliebe is recorded at frequency rank #13,063, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌliːbə]. Vorlieben is at rank #15,787, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯liːbən].

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 28850, this pair ranks #1,777,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vorliebe vs Vorlieben

Shared letters: beilorv. Private to "Vorliebe": -. Private to "Vorlieben": n.

"Vorliebe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "Vorlieben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorliebe ← ovrliebe · volriebe · vorilebe · vorleibe · vorlibee · vorliebbe · vorlieeb · vorlliebe
  • Vorlieben ← ovrlieben · volrieben · vorileben · vorleiben · vorlibeen · vorliebben · vorliebenn · vorliebne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vorliebe" and "Vorlieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌliːbə] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯liːbən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Vorliebe" or "Vorlieben"?
"Vorliebe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,063 in our German list, against #15,787 for "Vorlieben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorliebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorlieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,777,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vorliebe" and "Vorlieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorliebe vs vorliest". 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 #1,777,464 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