empfundenvsempfundenenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: empfunden is a verb, empfundenen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“empfunden” is a verb and “empfundenen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,702
“empfunden” frequency rank
#38,707
“empfundenen” frequency rank
47409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature empfunden empfundenen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs empfinden Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs empfunden

Where the eye mixes empfunden and empfundenen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. empfunden runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against empfundenen's 11 (VCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
empfunden
11 ch
empfundenen

Why the eye confuses empfunden with empfundenen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: empfunden is [ɛmˈp͡fʊndn̩] while empfundenen is [ɛmˈp͡fʊndənən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “empfunden” sits inside “empfundenen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

empfunden is recorded at frequency rank #8,702, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fʊndn̩]. empfundenen is at rank #38,707, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛmˈp͡fʊndənən].

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 47409, this pair ranks #1,285,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of empfunden vs empfundenen

Shared letters: defmnpu. Private to "empfunden": -. Private to "empfundenen": -.

"empfunden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "empfundenen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • empfundenemfpunden · emmpfunden · empffunden · empfnuden · empfudnen · empfundden · empfundenn · empfundne
  • empfundenenemfpundenen · emmpfundenen · empffundenen · empfnudenen · empfudnenen · empfunddenen · empfundeenn · empfundenenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "empfunden" for "empfundenen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "empfunden" is a verb and "empfundenen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "empfunden" or "empfundenen"?
"empfunden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,702 in our German list, against #38,707 for "empfundenen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "empfunden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "empfundenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,285,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "empfunden" and "empfundenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "empfundene vs empfundenen". 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 #1,285,273 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