empfindevsempfindestWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,262
“empfinde” frequency rank
#37,487
“empfindest” frequency rank
47749
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empfinde empfindest
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfinden 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfinden

Where the eye mixes empfinde and empfindest

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

8 ch
empfinde
10 ch
empfindest

Why the eye confuses empfinde with empfindest

A purely visual mix-up. empfinde ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndə]) and empfindest ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndəst]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “empfinde” sits inside “empfindest”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47749, 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]. empfindest is at rank #37,487, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fɪndəst].

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 47749, this pair ranks #1,273,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of empfinde vs empfindest

Shared letters: defimnp. Private to "empfinde": -. Private to "empfindest": st.

"empfinde" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "empfindest" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empfindeemfpinde · emmpfinde · empffinde · empfidne · empfindde · empfined · empfinnde · empfnide
  • empfindestemfpindest · emmpfindest · empffindest · empfidnest · empfinddest · empfindesst · empfindestt · empfindets

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "empfinde" for "empfindest" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndə] versus [ɛmˈp͡fɪndəst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "empfinde" vs "empfindest" - which ranks higher?
"empfinde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,262 in our German list, against #37,487 for "empfindest". 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 "empfinde" and "empfindest" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "empfinde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empfindest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,273,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empfinde" and "empfindest" 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 #1,273,456 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