fütternvsFütterungWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#11,238
“füttern” frequency rank
#26,422
“Fütterung” frequency rank
37660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature füttern Fütterung
Definition einem Tier Nahrung geben die Versorgung von einem oder mehreren Tieren mit Nahrung (= Futter)

Where the eye mixes füttern and Fütterung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. füttern runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Fütterung's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
füttern
9 ch
Fütterung

Look-alike desk: füttern vs Fütterung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: füttern is [ˈfʏtɐn] while Fütterung is [ˈfʏtəʁʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

füttern is recorded at frequency rank #11,238, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfʏtɐn]. Fütterung is at rank #26,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʏtəʁʊŋ].

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 37660, this pair ranks #1,584,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of füttern vs Fütterung

Shared letters: efnrtü. Private to "füttern": -. Private to "Fütterung": gu.

"füttern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Fütterung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "füttern" and "Fütterung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "füttern" is a verb and "Fütterung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "füttern" vs "Fütterung" - which ranks higher?
"füttern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,238 in our German list, against #26,422 for "Fütterung". 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 "füttern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Fütterung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,584,356 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "füttern" and "Fütterung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fügten vs füttern". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,584,356 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