Which to use
“empfahl” and “empfand” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,807
- “empfahl” frequency rank
- #14,552
- “empfand” frequency rank
- 28359
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empfahl | empfand |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs empfehlen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs empfinden |
Where the eye mixes empfahl and empfand
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. empfahl and empfand follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses empfahl with empfand
A purely visual mix-up. empfahl ([ɛmˈp͡faːl]) and empfand ([ɛmˈp͡fant]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empfahl is recorded at frequency rank #13,807, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡faːl]. empfand is at rank #14,552, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fant].
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 28359, this pair ranks #1,786,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empfahl vs empfand
Shared letters: aefmp. Private to "empfahl": hl. Private to "empfand": dn.
"empfahl" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC · "empfand" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empfahl" and "empfand" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "empfahl" or "empfand" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "empfahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empfand" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,786,193 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empfahl" and "empfand" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfand vs empfange". 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 #1,786,193 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.