Which to use
“erfinden” is a verb and “Erfindung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,535
- “erfinden” frequency rank
- #6,414
- “Erfindung” frequency rank
- 15949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfinden | Erfindung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine technische Neuheit erdenken; eine Erfindung machen | besondere, nicht auf der Hand liegende, materielle Konstrukte oder Verfahren, die neue und nützliche Anwendungen ermöglichen |
Where the eye mixes erfinden and Erfindung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erfinden runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Erfindung's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erfinden and Erfindung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erfinden is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩] while Erfindung is [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfinden is recorded at frequency rank #9,535, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndn̩]. Erfindung is at rank #6,414, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋ].
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 15949, this pair ranks #1,939,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfinden vs Erfindung
Shared letters: definr. Private to "erfinden": -. Private to "Erfindung": gu.
"erfinden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Erfindung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfinden" and "Erfindung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erfinden" or "Erfindung"?
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 "erfinden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erfindung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,939,839 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfinden" and "Erfindung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfinden vs erfinden". 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 #1,939,839 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.