entbindenvsentzündenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,846
“entbinden” frequency rank
#28,628
“entzünden” frequency rank
77474
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entbinden entzünden
Definition ein Kind zur Welt bringen in Brand setzen

Where the eye mixes entbinden and entzünden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entbinden and entzünden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
entbinden
9 ch
entzünden

Visual trap between entbinden and entzünden

A purely visual mix-up. entbinden ([ɛntˈbɪndn̩]) and entzünden ([ɛntˈt͡sʏndn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77474, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entbinden is recorded at frequency rank #48,846, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈbɪndn̩]. entzünden is at rank #28,628, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡sʏndn̩].

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 77474, this pair ranks #259,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of entbinden vs entzünden

Shared letters: dent. Private to "entbinden": bi. Private to "entzünden": zü.

"entbinden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entzünden" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entbinden ← enbtinden · enntbinden · entbbinden · entbidnen · entbindden · entbindenn · entbindne · entbinedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "entbinden" for "entzünden" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈbɪndn̩] versus [ɛntˈt͡sʏndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "entbinden" vs "entzünden" - which ranks higher?
"entzünden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,628 in our German list, against #48,846 for "entbinden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entbinden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entzünden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #259,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entbinden" and "entzünden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entbinden vs entrinnen". 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 #259,864 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