Lüften vs Lüftung, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#17,355
“Lüften” frequency rank: #30,675
“Lüftung” frequency rank: 48030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Lüften	Lüftung
Definition	Aussetzung der frischen Luft	das Lüften; Versorgung eines Raumes/Systems mit Frischluft durch Luftaustausch oder kontinuierlichen Luftwechsel

Where the eye mixes Lüften and Lüftung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch

Lüften

7 ch

Lüftung

Look-alike desk: Lüften vs Lüftung

A purely visual mix-up. Lüften ([ˈlʏftn̩]) and Lüftung ([ˈlʏftʊŋ]) 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 48030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lüften is recorded at frequency rank #17,355, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlʏftn̩]. Lüftung is at rank #30,675, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlʏftʊŋ].

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 48030, this pair ranks #1,263,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lüften vs Lüftung

Shared letters: flntü. Private to "Lüften": e. Private to "Lüftung": gu.

"Lüften" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Lüftung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lüften" and "Lüftung" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈlʏftn̩] versus [ˈlʏftʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "Lüften" or "Lüftung"?

"Lüften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,355 in our German list, against #30,675 for "Lüftung". 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 "Lüften" and "Lüftung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

Full dictionary entry for "Lüften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "Lüftung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #1,263,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"Lüften" and "Lüftung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "letten vs Lüften". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,263,375 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.