empfandenvsempfindeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,073
“empfanden” frequency rank
#10,262
“empfinde” frequency rank
48335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empfanden empfinde
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs empfinden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfinden

Where the eye mixes empfanden and empfinde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empfanden runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against empfinde's 8 (VCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
empfanden
8 ch
empfinde

Look-alike desk: empfanden vs empfinde

A purely visual mix-up. empfanden ([ɛmˈp͡fandn̩]) and empfinde ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndə]) 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 48335, 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]. empfinde is at rank #10,262, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fɪndə].

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 48335, this pair ranks #1,252,309 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of empfanden vs empfinde

Shared letters: defmnp. Private to "empfanden": a. Private to "empfinde": i.

"empfanden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "empfinde" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empfandenemfpanden · emmpfanden · empafnden · empfadnen · empfandden · empfandenn · empfandne · empfanedn
  • empfindeemfpinde · emmpfinde · empffinde · empfidne · empfindde · empfined · empfinnde · empfnide

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "empfanden" and "empfinde" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛmˈp͡fandn̩] versus [ɛmˈp͡fɪndə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empfanden" vs "empfinde" - which ranks higher?
"empfinde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,262 in our German list, against #38,073 for "empfanden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "empfanden" and "empfinde" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empfanden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empfinde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,252,309 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empfanden" and "empfinde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfanden 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 #1,252,309 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list