EpidemievsEpidemienTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,075
“Epidemie” frequency rank
#43,147
“Epidemien” frequency rank
58222
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Epidemie Epidemien
Definition massenhaftes Auftreten einer Krankheit innerhalb einer Population Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Epidemie

Where the eye mixes Epidemie and Epidemien

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Epidemie runs 8 letters (VCVCVCVV) against Epidemien's 9 (VCVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Epidemie
9 ch
Epidemien

Why the eye confuses Epidemie with Epidemien

A purely visual mix-up. Epidemie ([epideˈmiː]) and Epidemien ([epideˈmiːən]) 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) - “Epidemie” sits inside “Epidemien”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58222, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Epidemie is recorded at frequency rank #15,075, classified as anoun, pronounced [epideˈmiː]. Epidemien is at rank #43,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced [epideˈmiːən].

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 58222, this pair ranks #871,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Epidemie vs Epidemien

Shared letters: deimp. Private to "Epidemie": -. Private to "Epidemien": n.

"Epidemie" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVV  ·  "Epidemien" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Epidemie ← eipdemie · epdiemie · epiddemie · epideime · epidemei · epidemmie · epidmeie · epiedmie
  • Epidemien ← eipdemien · epdiemien · epiddemien · epideimen · epidemein · epidemienn · epidemine · epidemmien

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Epidemie" and "Epidemien" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([epideˈmiː] versus [epideˈmiːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Epidemie" vs "Epidemien" - which ranks higher?
"Epidemie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,075 in our German list, against #43,147 for "Epidemien". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Epidemie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Epidemien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #871,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #871,106 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