empfehlen vs Empfehlung, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,808
“empfehlen” frequency rank: #4,419
“Empfehlung” frequency rank: 6227
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	empfehlen	Empfehlung
Definition	jemanden/etwas als vorteilhaft, geeignet, zuverlässig infrage kommend benennen; jemandem anraten, sich für jemanden beziehungsweise etwas zu entscheiden	Handlung, die darin besteht, anderen einen Vorschlag zu machen, etwas Bestimmtes zu tun oder zu unterlassen

Where the eye mixes empfehlen and Empfehlung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch

empfehlen

10 ch

Empfehlung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empfehlen is [ɛmˈp͡feːlən] while Empfehlung is [ɛmˈp͡feːlʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 6227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empfehlen is recorded at frequency rank #1,808, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡feːlən]. Empfehlung is at rank #4,419, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡feːlʊŋ].

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 6227, this pair ranks #1,992,312 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empfehlen vs Empfehlung

Shared letters: efhlmnp. Private to "empfehlen": -. Private to "Empfehlung": gu.

"empfehlen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "Empfehlung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

empfehlen ← emfpehlen · emmpfehlen · empefhlen · empfeheln · empfehhlen · empfehlenn · empfehllen · empfehlne
Empfehlung ← emfpehlung · emmpfehlung · empefhlung · empfehhlung · empfehllung · empfehlnug · empfehlugn · empfehlungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "empfehlen" and "Empfehlung" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "empfehlen" is a verb and "Empfehlung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "empfehlen" or "Empfehlung"?

"empfehlen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,808 in our German list, against #4,419 for "Empfehlung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.