FundevsFunkenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,285
“Funde” frequency rank
#11,236
“Funken” frequency rank
23521
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Funde Funken
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Fund glühendes Teilchen einer Materie

Where the eye mixes Funde and Funken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Funde runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Funken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Funde
6 ch
Funken

Look-alike desk: Funde vs Funken

A purely visual mix-up. Funde ([ˈfʊndə]) and Funken ([ˈfʊŋkn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23521, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Funde is recorded at frequency rank #12,285, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʊndə]. Funken is at rank #11,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʊŋkn̩].

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 23521, this pair ranks #1,860,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Funde vs Funken

Shared letters: efnu. Private to "Funde": d. Private to "Funken": k.

"Funde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Funken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Funde ← ffunde · fnude · fudne · fundde · funed · funnde · ufnde
  • Funken ← ffunken · fnuken · fuknen · funekn · funkenn · funkken · funkne · funnken

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Funde" for "Funken" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʊndə] versus [ˈfʊŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Funde" or "Funken"?
"Funken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,236 in our German list, against #12,285 for "Funde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Funde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Funken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,860,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Funde" and "Funken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fondue vs Funde". 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 #1,860,215 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