berechnenvsBerechnungWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: berechnen is a verb, Berechnung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“berechnen” is a verb and “Berechnung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,877
“berechnen” frequency rank
#6,044
“Berechnung” frequency rank
13921
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature berechnen Berechnung
Definition eine mathematische Operation ausführen, etwas ausrechnen Auflösen von Formeln

Where the eye mixes berechnen and Berechnung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. berechnen runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against Berechnung's 10 (CVCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
berechnen
10 ch
Berechnung

Why the eye confuses berechnen with Berechnung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: berechnen is [bəˈʁɛçnən] while Berechnung is [bəˈʁɛçnʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

berechnen is recorded at frequency rank #7,877, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁɛçnən]. Berechnung is at rank #6,044, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʁɛçnʊŋ].

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 13921, this pair ranks #1,954,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of berechnen vs Berechnung

Shared letters: bcehnr. Private to "berechnen": -. Private to "Berechnung": gu.

"berechnen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "Berechnung" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • berechnen ← bberechnen · beerchnen · bercehnen · berecchnen · berechenn · berechhnen · berechnenn · berechnne
  • Berechnung ← bberechnung · beerchnung · bercehnung · berecchnung · berechhnung · berechnnug · berechnnung · berechnugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "berechnen" and "Berechnung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "berechnen" is a verb and "Berechnung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "berechnen" or "Berechnung" show up more?
"Berechnung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,044 in our German list, against #7,877 for "berechnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "berechnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Berechnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,954,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "berechnen" and "Berechnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berechnen vs berechneten". 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 #1,954,777 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