intensivierenvsIntensivierungTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#35,252
“intensivieren” frequency rank
#41,920
“Intensivierung” frequency rank
77172
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intensivieren Intensivierung
Definition etwas verstärken, steigern, intensiver gestalten Handlung, etwas stärker/intensiver zu machen, und Ergebnis dieser Handlung

Where the eye mixes intensivieren and Intensivierung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. intensivieren runs 13 letters (VCCVCCVCVVCVC) against Intensivierung's 14 (VCCVCCVCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
intensivieren
14 ch
Intensivierung

Why the eye confuses intensivieren with Intensivierung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intensivieren is [ɪntɛnziˈviːʁən] while Intensivierung is [ɪntɛnziˈviːʁʊŋ]. 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 77172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intensivieren is recorded at frequency rank #35,252, classified as averb, pronounced [ɪntɛnziˈviːʁən]. Intensivierung is at rank #41,920, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪntɛnziˈviːʁʊŋ].

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 77172, this pair ranks #266,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of intensivieren vs Intensivierung

Shared letters: einrstv. Private to "intensivieren": -. Private to "Intensivierung": gu.

"intensivieren" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVCVC  ·  "Intensivierung" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intensivieren ← inetnsivieren · inntensivieren · intenisvieren · intennsivieren · intensiiveren · intensiveiren · intensivieern · intensivierenn
  • Intensivierung ← inetnsivierung · inntensivierung · intenisvierung · intennsivierung · intensiiverung · intensiveirung · intensiviernug · intensivierrung

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "intensivieren" for "Intensivierung" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intensivieren" is a verb and "Intensivierung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "intensivieren" or "Intensivierung"?
"intensivieren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,252 in our German list, against #41,920 for "Intensivierung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "intensivieren" and "Intensivierung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "intensivieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Intensivierung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #266,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intensivieren" and "Intensivierung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intensivere vs intensivieren". 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 #266,844 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