Which to use
“vorschreiben” and “vorschreibt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,080
- “vorschreiben” frequency rank
- #28,927
- “vorschreibt” frequency rank
- 48007
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorschreiben | vorschreibt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem Vorschriften machen; jemandem sagen, was er tun soll | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorschreiben |
Where the eye mixes vorschreiben and vorschreibt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vorschreiben runs 12 letters (CVCCCCCVVCVC) against vorschreibt's 11 (CVCCCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vorschreiben with vorschreibt
A purely visual mix-up. vorschreiben ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and vorschreibt ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁaɪ̯pt]) 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 48007, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vorschreiben is recorded at frequency rank #19,080, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]. vorschreibt is at rank #28,927, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁaɪ̯pt].
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 48007, this pair ranks #1,264,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vorschreiben vs vorschreibt
Shared letters: bcehiorsv. Private to "vorschreiben": n. Private to "vorschreibt": t.
"vorschreiben" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCVC · "vorschreibt" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vorschreiben ← ovrschreiben · vorcshreiben · vorrschreiben · vorscchreiben · vorscheriben · vorschhreiben · vorschrebien · vorschreibben
- vorschreibt ← ovrschreibt · vorcshreibt · vorrschreibt · vorscchreibt · vorscheribt · vorschhreibt · vorschrebit · vorschreibbt
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vorschreiben" and "vorschreibt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "vorschreiben" or "vorschreibt" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorschreiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorschreibt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,264,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorschreiben" and "vorschreibt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verschreiben vs vorschreiben". 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 #1,264,190 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.