empfangevsEmpfängersWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: empfange is a verb, Empfängers is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“empfange” is a verb and “Empfängers” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,770
“empfange” frequency rank
#38,075
“Empfängers” frequency rank
79845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empfange Empfängers
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfangen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Empfänger

Where the eye mixes empfange and Empfängers

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empfange runs 8 letters (VCCCVCCV) against Empfängers's 10 (VCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
empfange
10 ch
Empfängers

Visual trap between empfange and Empfängers

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empfange is [ɛmˈp͡faŋə] while Empfängers is [ɛmˈp͡fɛŋɐs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empfange is recorded at frequency rank #41,770, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡faŋə]. Empfängers is at rank #38,075, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fɛŋɐs].

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 79845, this pair ranks #207,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of empfange vs Empfängers

Shared letters: efgmnp. Private to "empfange": a. Private to "Empfängers": rsä.

"empfange" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "Empfängers" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empfangeemfpange · emmpfange · empafnge · empfagne · empfaneg · empfangge · empfannge · empffange

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empfange" and "Empfängers" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "empfange" is a verb and "Empfängers" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "empfange" or "Empfängers"?
"Empfängers" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,075 in our German list, against #41,770 for "empfange". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "empfange" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Empfängers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #207,837 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empfange" and "Empfängers" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Empfängers vs Empfängnis". 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 #207,837 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