entwerfenvsentworfenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,813
“entwerfen” frequency rank
#7,460
“entworfen” frequency rank
21273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entwerfen entworfen
Definition etwas in seinen Grundzügen entwickeln Partizip Perfekt des Verbs entwerfen

Where the eye mixes entwerfen and entworfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. entwerfen and entworfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
entwerfen
9 ch
entworfen

Visual trap between entwerfen and entworfen

A purely visual mix-up. entwerfen ([ɛntˈvɛʁfn̩]) and entworfen ([ɛntˈvɔʁfn̩]) 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 - e in “entwerfen” becomes o in “entworfen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entwerfen is recorded at frequency rank #13,813, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈvɛʁfn̩]. entworfen is at rank #7,460, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈvɔʁfn̩].

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 21273, this pair ranks #1,888,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entwerfen vs entworfen

Shared letters: efnrtw. Private to "entwerfen": -. Private to "entworfen": o.

"entwerfen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entworfen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entwerfenenntwerfen · entewrfen · enttwerfen · entwefren · entwerefn · entwerfenn · entwerffen · entwerfne
  • entworfenenntworfen · entowrfen · enttworfen · entwofren · entworefn · entworfenn · entworffen · entworfne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "entwerfen" and "entworfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈvɛʁfn̩] versus [ɛntˈvɔʁfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entwerfen" or "entworfen"?
"entworfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,460 in our German list, against #13,813 for "entwerfen". 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 "entwerfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entworfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,888,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entwerfen" and "entworfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einwerfen vs entwerfen". 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 #1,888,237 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