Which to use
“empfanden” and “empfange” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,073
- “empfanden” frequency rank
- #41,770
- “empfange” frequency rank
- 79843
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empfanden | empfange |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs empfinden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfangen |
Where the eye mixes empfanden and empfange
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empfanden runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against empfange's 8 (VCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between empfanden and empfange
A purely visual mix-up. empfanden ([ɛmˈp͡fandn̩]) and empfange ([ɛmˈp͡faŋə]) 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 79843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empfanden is recorded at frequency rank #38,073, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fandn̩]. empfange is at rank #41,770, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡faŋə].
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 79843, this pair ranks #207,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of empfanden vs empfange
Shared letters: aefmnp. Private to "empfanden": d. Private to "empfange": g.
"empfanden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "empfange" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empfanden" and "empfange" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "empfanden" or "empfange"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "empfanden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empfange" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #207,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empfanden" and "empfange" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfange vs Empfängers". 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 #207,875 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.