Which to use
“empfinde” and “empfunden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,262
- “empfinde” frequency rank
- #8,702
- “empfunden” frequency rank
- 18964
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empfinde | empfunden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs empfinden | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs empfinden |
Where the eye mixes empfinde and empfunden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. empfinde runs 8 letters (VCCCVCCV) against empfunden's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses empfinde with empfunden
A purely visual mix-up. empfinde ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndə]) and empfunden ([ɛmˈp͡fʊndn̩]) 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 18964, 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]. empfunden is at rank #8,702, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fʊndn̩].
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 18964, this pair ranks #1,913,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empfinde vs empfunden
Shared letters: defmnp. Private to "empfinde": i. Private to "empfunden": u.
"empfinde" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV · "empfunden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empfinde" for "empfunden" ever safe?
Frequency check: "empfinde" vs "empfunden" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "empfinde" and "empfunden" 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 "empfunden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,913,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empfinde" and "empfunden" 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 #1,913,116 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.