Which to use
“empfand” and “erfand” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,552
- “empfand” frequency rank
- #19,202
- “erfand” frequency rank
- 33754
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empfand | erfand |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs empfinden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs erfinden |
Where the eye mixes empfand and erfand
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. empfand runs 7 letters (VCCCVCC) against erfand's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: empfand vs erfand
A purely visual mix-up. empfand ([ɛmˈp͡fant]) and erfand ([ɛɐ̯ˈfant]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empfand is recorded at frequency rank #14,552, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fant]. erfand is at rank #19,202, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfant].
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 33754, this pair ranks #1,678,820 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empfand vs erfand
Shared letters: adefn. Private to "empfand": mp. Private to "erfand": r.
"empfand" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC · "erfand" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empfand" and "erfand" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "empfand" or "erfand" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "empfand" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfand" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,678,820 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empfand" and "erfand" 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 #1,678,820 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.