verderben
German, verb
verderben is spelled V-E-R-D-E-R-B-E-N (9 letters) and appears 6.9 times per million words in written German, the 9,526th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Verderben is a German verb meaning “to deprive (someone) of (something); to rob (someone) of (some feeling)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Verderben is a different word: “ruin, doom”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “etwas unbrauchbar oder zunichte machen, speziell auch jemandem ein positives Gefühl nehmen”.
What does verderben mean in English?
verb
- 1
to deprive (someone) of (something); to rob (someone) of (some feeling)
- 2
to ruin; to render (something) useless; to corrupt; to spoil
- 3
to spoil; to rot; to perish
- 4
to be offensive; to live sinfully
noun
- 1
neutergerund of verderben
- 2
neuterruin, doom
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. etwas unbrauchbar oder zunichte machen, speziell auch jemandem ein positives Gefühl nehmen 2. verfaulen, schlecht werden (hauptsächlich von Lebensmitteln) 3. anstößig, sündig, nicht so, wie es der Norm entspricht
noun: 1. Vorgang, bei dem Lebensmittel mit der Zeit ungenießbar werden 2. Vorfall, Entwicklung, die Unheil bedeuten
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of verderben
- verdirbt present singular third-person
- verdarb past
- verdorben participle past
- verderbt archaic participle past
- verdürbe past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- sein auxiliary
- 3 strong
- haben or sein auxiliary
- verderbend participle present
- verderbe first-person indicative present
- verdirbst indicative present second-person
- verderbest second-person singular subjunctive
- verderbet plural second-person subjunctive
- verdarben first-person indicative plural
- verdürben first-person formal plural
- verdarbst indicative preterite second-person
- verdarbt indicative plural preterite
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to verderben
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is verderben in German?
verderben appears 6.9 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).