empfehlevsempfiehltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,290
“empfehle” frequency rank
#4,420
“empfiehlt” frequency rank
10710
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empfehle empfiehlt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfehlen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfehlen

Where the eye mixes empfehle and empfiehlt

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

8 ch
empfehle
9 ch
empfiehlt

Look-alike desk: empfehle vs empfiehlt

A purely visual mix-up. empfehle ([ɛmˈp͡feːlə]) and empfiehlt ([ɛmˈp͡fiːlt]) 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 10710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empfehle is recorded at frequency rank #6,290, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡feːlə]. empfiehlt is at rank #4,420, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fiːlt].

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 10710, this pair ranks #1,973,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empfehle vs empfiehlt

Shared letters: efhlmp. Private to "empfehle": -. Private to "empfiehlt": it.

"empfehle" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "empfiehlt" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empfehleemfpehle · emmpfehle · empefhle · empfehel · empfehhle · empfehlle · empfelhe · empffehle
  • empfiehltemfpiehlt · emmpfiehlt · empfeihlt · empffiehlt · empfiehhlt · empfiehllt · empfiehltt · empfiehtl

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "empfehle" for "empfiehlt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛmˈp͡feːlə] versus [ɛmˈp͡fiːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empfehle" vs "empfiehlt" - which ranks higher?
"empfiehlt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,420 in our German list, against #6,290 for "empfehle". 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 "empfehle" and "empfiehlt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empfehle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empfiehlt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,973,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empfehle" and "empfiehlt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfahl vs empfehle". 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 #1,973,709 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