FestnehmenvsfestzunehmenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Festnehmen is a noun, festzunehmen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Festnehmen” is a noun and “festzunehmen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,904
“Festnehmen” frequency rank
#43,173
“festzunehmen” frequency rank
63077
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Festnehmen festzunehmen
Definition Entzug oder Freiheit durch eine Amtsperson erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs festnehmen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Festnehmen and festzunehmen apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
Festnehmen
12 ch
festzunehmen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Festnehmen is [ˈfɛstˌneːmən] while festzunehmen is [ˈfɛstt͡suˌneːmən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63077, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Festnehmen is recorded at frequency rank #19,904, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɛstˌneːmən]. festzunehmen is at rank #43,173, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɛstt͡suˌneːmən].

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 63077, this pair ranks #689,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Festnehmen vs festzunehmen

Shared letters: efhmnst. Private to "Festnehmen": -. Private to "festzunehmen": uz.

"Festnehmen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "festzunehmen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Festnehmenefstnehmen · fesntehmen · fesstnehmen · festenhmen · festnehemn · festnehhmen · festnehmenn · festnehmmen
  • festzunehmenefstzunehmen · fesstzunehmen · festtzunehmen · festuznehmen · festznuehmen · festzuenhmen · festzunehemn · festzunehhmen

Frequency comparison

Festnehmen#19,904
festzunehmen#43,173

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Festnehmen" and "festzunehmen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Festnehmen" is a noun and "festzunehmen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Festnehmen" or "festzunehmen"?
"Festnehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,904 in our German list, against #43,173 for "festzunehmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Festnehmen vs festzunehmen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Festnehmen”; for a verb, it's “festzunehmen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Festnehmen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list