ErfindungvsErfindungenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,414
“Erfindung” frequency rank
#18,528
“Erfindungen” frequency rank
24942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Erfindung Erfindungen
Definition besondere, nicht auf der Hand liegende, materielle Konstrukte oder Verfahren, die neue und nützliche Anwendungen ermöglichen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Erfindung

Where the eye mixes Erfindung and Erfindungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Erfindung runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against Erfindungen's 11 (VCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Erfindung
11 ch
Erfindungen

Look-alike desk: Erfindung vs Erfindungen

A purely visual mix-up. Erfindung ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋ]) and Erfindungen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Erfindung” sits inside “Erfindungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Erfindung is recorded at frequency rank #6,414, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋ]. Erfindungen is at rank #18,528, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋən].

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 24942, this pair ranks #1,840,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Erfindung vs Erfindungen

Shared letters: defginru. Private to "Erfindung": -. Private to "Erfindungen": -.

"Erfindung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Erfindungen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Erfindung ← efrindung · erffindung · erfidnung · erfinddung · erfindnug · erfindugn · erfindungg · erfindunng
  • Erfindungen ← efrindungen · erffindungen · erfidnungen · erfinddungen · erfindnugen · erfindugnen · erfindunegn · erfindungenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Erfindung" and "Erfindungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋ] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfɪndʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Erfindung" or "Erfindungen"?
"Erfindung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,414 in our German list, against #18,528 for "Erfindungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Erfindung" and "Erfindungen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Erfindung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erfindungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,840,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Erfindung" and "Erfindungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Empfindungen vs Erfindungen". 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 #1,840,400 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