Which to use
“prüfe” and “prüfen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,670
- “prüfe” frequency rank
- #2,781
- “prüfen” frequency rank
- 26451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prüfe | prüfen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs prüfen | feststellen, inwiefern einer Bedingung genügt wird |
Where the eye mixes prüfe and prüfen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. prüfe runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against prüfen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between prüfe and prüfen
A purely visual mix-up. prüfe ([ˈpʁyːfə]) and prüfen ([ˈpʁyːfn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “prüfe” sits inside “prüfen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prüfe is recorded at frequency rank #23,670, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁyːfə]. prüfen is at rank #2,781, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁyːfn̩].
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 26451, this pair ranks #1,817,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prüfe vs prüfen
Shared letters: efprü. Private to "prüfe": -. Private to "prüfen": n.
"prüfe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "prüfen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prüfe" and "prüfen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "prüfe" or "prüfen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "prüfe" and "prüfen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "prüfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prüfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,817,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prüfe" and "prüfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Paule vs prüfe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,817,898 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.