Which to use
“erkennen” is a verb and “Erkennung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,054
- “erkennen” frequency rank
- #16,407
- “Erkennung” frequency rank
- 17461
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erkennen | Erkennung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder jemanden so deutlich wahrnehmen, dass man weiß, was oder wer es ist (im Sinne von etwas wiedererkennen) | das Erkennen einer Sache, eines Sachverhaltes |
Where the eye mixes erkennen and Erkennung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erkennen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Erkennung's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erkennen and Erkennung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: erkennen is [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnən] while Erkennung is [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnʊŋ]. 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 17461, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erkennen is recorded at frequency rank #1,054, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnən]. Erkennung is at rank #16,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈkɛnʊŋ].
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 17461, this pair ranks #1,927,191 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erkennen vs Erkennung
Shared letters: eknr. Private to "erkennen": -. Private to "Erkennung": gu.
"erkennen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Erkennung" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erkennen" and "Erkennung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "erkennen" vs "Erkennung" - which ranks higher?
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 "erkennen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Erkennung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,927,191 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erkennen" and "Erkennung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Erkennung vs Erkundung". 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 #1,927,191 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.