empfindevsempfindenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,262
“empfinde” frequency rank
#5,700
“empfinden” frequency rank
15962
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empfinde empfinden
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfinden mit den menschlichen Sinnen (etwas) wahrnehmen

Where the eye mixes empfinde and empfinden

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

8 ch
empfinde
9 ch
empfinden

Why the eye confuses empfinde with empfinden

A purely visual mix-up. empfinde ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndə]) and empfinden ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “empfinde” sits inside “empfinden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empfinde is recorded at frequency rank #10,262, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fɪndə]. empfinden is at rank #5,700, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fɪndn̩].

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 15962, this pair ranks #1,939,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of empfinde vs empfinden

Shared letters: defimnp. Private to "empfinde": -. Private to "empfinden": -.

"empfinde" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "empfinden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empfinde ← emfpinde · emmpfinde · empffinde · empfidne · empfindde · empfined · empfinnde · empfnide
  • empfinden ← emfpinden · emmpfinden · empffinden · empfidnen · empfindden · empfindenn · empfindne · empfinedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "empfinde" and "empfinden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndə] versus [ɛmˈp͡fɪndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "empfinde" or "empfinden"?
"empfinden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,700 in our German list, against #10,262 for "empfinde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empfinde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empfinden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,939,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empfinde" and "empfinden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfange vs empfinde". 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 #1,939,755 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