verfärben

[fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩]

/[fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“verfärben” is uncommon German (frequency #81,103 among 49,639 “V” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,103
frequency rank, German
49,639
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - die ursprüngliche Farbe ändern, meist weil ein neuer Farbton dazukommt, das Ergebnis wird eher negativ gesehen

Key facts for verfärben
PropertyValue
Headwordverfärben
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#81,103
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “verfärben” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). verfärben lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

verfärben is uncommon German at frequency #81,103 among 49,639 “V” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for verfärben in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is verfärben, spelled V-E-R-F-Ä-R-B-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    die ursprüngliche Farbe ändern, meist weil ein neuer Farbton dazukommt, das Ergebnis wird eher negativ gesehen
  2. 2
    die Farbe verlieren/wechseln/ändern, ohne dass dies ein absichtliches Tun ist
  3. 3
    jahreszeitenbedingt das Haarkleid/Fell wechseln

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "verfärben"?
"verfärben" is spelled V-E-R-F-Ä-R-B-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩].
What does "verfärben" mean?
As a verb, "verfärben" means: die ursprüngliche Farbe ändern, meist weil ein neuer Farbton dazukommt, das Ergebnis wird eher negativ gesehen
How do you pronounce "verfärben"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "verfärben" is [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "verfärben" come from?
"verfärben" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “verfärben”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is V-E-R-F-Ä-R-B-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [fɛɐ̯ˈfɛʁbn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list