Which to use
“empfinden” and “empfunden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,700
- “empfinden” frequency rank
- #8,702
- “empfunden” frequency rank
- 14402
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empfinden | empfunden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit den menschlichen Sinnen (etwas) wahrnehmen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs empfinden |
Where the eye mixes empfinden and empfunden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. empfinden and empfunden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses empfinden with empfunden
A purely visual mix-up. empfinden ([ɛmˈp͡fɪndn̩]) 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 a single letter - i in “empfinden” becomes u in “empfunden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empfinden is recorded at frequency rank #5,700, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fɪndn̩]. 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 14402, this pair ranks #1,951,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of empfinden vs empfunden
Shared letters: defmnp. Private to "empfinden": i. Private to "empfunden": u.
"empfinden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "empfunden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "empfinden" for "empfunden" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "empfinden" or "empfunden" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "empfinden" 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 #1,951,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empfinden" and "empfunden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfinden vs empfinden". 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 #1,951,450 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.