Which to use
“berühmten” is an adjective and “berühren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,771
- “berühmten” frequency rank
- #6,512
- “berühren” frequency rank
- 11283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | berühmten | berühren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs berühmt | mit dem Äußeren seines Körpers mit einer Sache oder einer Person in Kontakt kommen |
Where the eye mixes berühmten and berühren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. berühmten runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against berühren's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses berühmten with berühren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: berühmten is [bəˈʁyːmtn̩] while berühren is [bəˈʁyːʁən]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
berühmten is recorded at frequency rank #4,771, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁyːmtn̩]. berühren is at rank #6,512, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁən].
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 11283, this pair ranks #1,970,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of berühmten vs berühren
Shared letters: behnrü. Private to "berühmten": mt. Private to "berühren": -.
"berühmten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "berühren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "berühmten" for "berühren" ever safe?
Which is more common, "berühmten" or "berühren"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "berühmten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "berühren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,970,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "berühmten" and "berühren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berühren vs berührende". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,970,693 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.