Which to use
“empfehlen” is a verb and “empfohlene” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,808
- “empfehlen” frequency rank
- #30,528
- “empfohlene” frequency rank
- 32336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empfehlen | empfohlene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden/etwas als vorteilhaft, geeignet, zuverlässig infrage kommend benennen; jemandem anraten, sich für jemanden beziehungsweise etwas zu entscheiden | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs empfohlen |
Where the eye mixes empfehlen and empfohlene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. empfehlen runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against empfohlene's 10 (VCCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses empfehlen with empfohlene
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empfehlen is [ɛmˈp͡feːlən] while empfohlene is [ɛmˈp͡foːlənə]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32336, 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]. empfohlene is at rank #30,528, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡foːlənə].
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 32336, this pair ranks #1,709,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empfehlen vs empfohlene
Shared letters: efhlmnp. Private to "empfehlen": -. Private to "empfohlene": o.
"empfehlen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "empfohlene" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- empfehlen ← emfpehlen · emmpfehlen · empefhlen · empfeheln · empfehhlen · empfehlenn · empfehllen · empfehlne
- empfohlene ← emfpohlene · emmpfohlene · empffohlene · empfholene · empfohelne · empfohhlene · empfohleen · empfohllene
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empfehlen" for "empfohlene" ever safe?
Which is more common, "empfehlen" or "empfohlene"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "empfehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "empfohlene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,709,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empfehlen" and "empfohlene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfohlene vs empfohlenen". 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 #1,709,810 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.