Which to use
“berühren” is a verb and “berührende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,512
- “berühren” frequency rank
- #47,996
- “berührende” frequency rank
- 54508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | berühren | berührende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit dem Äußeren seines Körpers mit einer Sache oder einer Person in Kontakt kommen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs berührend |
Where the eye mixes berühren and berührende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. berühren runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against berührende's 10 (CVCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between berühren and berührende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: berühren is [bəˈʁyːʁən] while berührende is [bəˈʁyːʁəndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “berühren” sits inside “berührende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
berühren is recorded at frequency rank #6,512, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁən]. berührende is at rank #47,996, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁəndə].
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 54508, this pair ranks #1,016,138 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of berühren vs berührende
Shared letters: behnrü. Private to "berühren": -. Private to "berührende": d.
"berühren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "berührende" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "berühren" for "berührende" ever safe?
Which is more common, "berühren" or "berührende"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "berühren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "berührende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,016,138 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "berühren" and "berührende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beruhenden vs berührende". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,016,138 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.