Which to use
“impfen” is a verb and “Impfung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,037
- “impfen” frequency rank
- #11,069
- “Impfung” frequency rank
- 28106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | impfen | Impfung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einer Impfung gegen Krankheiten schützen | Verabreichung eines biologisch oder gentechnisch hergestellten Antigens, meist bestehend aus Protein- oder Erbgutbruchstücken oder abgetöteten beziehungsweise abgeschwächten Erregern zur Erzeugung einer Immunität gegen eine Infektionskrankheit durch die Bildung von Antikörpern und spezialisierten T-Helferzellen |
Where the eye mixes impfen and Impfung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses impfen with Impfung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: impfen is [ˈɪmp͡fn̩] while Impfung is [ˈɪmp͡fʊŋ]. 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 28106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
impfen is recorded at frequency rank #17,037, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɪmp͡fn̩]. Impfung is at rank #11,069, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɪmp͡fʊŋ].
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 28106, this pair ranks #1,790,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of impfen vs Impfung
Shared letters: fimnp. Private to "impfen": e. Private to "Impfung": gu.
"impfen" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "Impfung" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "impfen" and "Impfung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "impfen" or "Impfung" show up more?
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 "impfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Impfung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,790,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "impfen" and "Impfung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Impfung vs Impfungen". 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 #1,790,452 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.