Which to use
“Empfang” is a noun and “empfangen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,264
- “Empfang” frequency rank
- #3,883
- “empfangen” frequency rank
- 8147
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Empfang | empfangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Empfangen einer Übertragung (zum Beispiel Rundfunk, Funk, Handy, …) | etwas bekommen |
Where the eye mixes Empfang and empfangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Empfang runs 7 letters (VCCCVCC) against empfangen's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Empfang and empfangen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Empfang is [ɛmˈp͡faŋ] while empfangen is [ɛmˈp͡faŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Empfang” sits inside “empfangen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Empfang is recorded at frequency rank #4,264, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡faŋ]. empfangen is at rank #3,883, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡faŋən].
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 8147, this pair ranks #1,985,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Empfang vs empfangen
Shared letters: aefgmnp. Private to "Empfang": -. Private to "empfangen": -.
"Empfang" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC · "empfangen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Empfang" and "empfangen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Empfang" or "empfangen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Empfang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empfangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Empfang" and "empfangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Empfang 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 #1,985,456 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.