BriefmarkevsBriefmarkenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Briefmarke” and “Briefmarken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,974
“Briefmarke” frequency rank
#16,944
“Briefmarken” frequency rank
46918
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Briefmarke Briefmarken
Definition aufklebbares (seltener auch aufgedrucktes) Wertzeichen, das als Zahlungsmittel für Postgebühren dient Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Briefmarke

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Briefmarke and Briefmarken apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
Briefmarke
11 ch
Briefmarken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Briefmarke ([ˈbʁiːfˌmaʁkə]) and Briefmarken ([ˈbʁiːfˌmaʁkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Briefmarke” sits inside “Briefmarken”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Briefmarke is recorded at frequency rank #29,974, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʁiːfˌmaʁkə]. Briefmarken is at rank #16,944, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʁiːfˌmaʁkn̩].

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 46918, this pair ranks #1,302,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Briefmarke vs Briefmarken

Shared letters: abefikmr. Private to "Briefmarke": -. Private to "Briefmarken": n.

"Briefmarke" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCCVCCV  ·  "Briefmarken" · 11 letters · shape CCVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Briefmarkebbriefmarke · birefmarke · breifmarke · briefamrke · brieffmarke · briefmakre · briefmarek · briefmarkke
  • Briefmarkenbbriefmarken · birefmarken · breifmarken · briefamrken · brieffmarken · briefmakren · briefmarekn · briefmarkenn

Frequency comparison

Briefmarke#29,974
Briefmarken#16,944

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Briefmarke" and "Briefmarken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbʁiːfˌmaʁkə] versus [ˈbʁiːfˌmaʁkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Briefmarke" or "Briefmarken"?
"Briefmarken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,944 in our German list, against #29,974 for "Briefmarke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Briefmarke vs Briefmarken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Briefmarke” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list