Which to use
“enttäuschen” and “enttäuschend” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,405
- “enttäuschen” frequency rank
- #13,812
- “enttäuschend” frequency rank
- 30217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enttäuschen | enttäuschend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Hoffnung, einen Wunsch oder eine Erwartung nicht erfüllen oder zerstören | Partizip Präsens des Verbs enttäuschen |
Where the eye mixes enttäuschen and enttäuschend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. enttäuschen runs 11 letters (VCCCVVCCCVC) against enttäuschend's 12 (VCCCVVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: enttäuschen vs enttäuschend
A purely visual mix-up. enttäuschen ([ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃn̩]) and enttäuschend ([ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃn̩t]) 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 extra letter(s) - “enttäuschen” sits inside “enttäuschend”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enttäuschen is recorded at frequency rank #16,405, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃn̩]. enttäuschend is at rank #13,812, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈtɔɪ̯ʃn̩t].
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 30217, this pair ranks #1,752,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of enttäuschen vs enttäuschend
Shared letters: cehnstuä. Private to "enttäuschen": -. Private to "enttäuschend": d.
"enttäuschen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCCCVC · "enttäuschend" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVVCCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "enttäuschen" and "enttäuschend" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "enttäuschen" or "enttäuschend" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "enttäuschen" and "enttäuschend" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "enttäuschen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enttäuschend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,752,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enttäuschen" and "enttäuschend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enttäuschen vs enttäuschten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,752,147 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.