Which to use
“prüfen” and “prüft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,781
- “prüfen” frequency rank
- #7,380
- “prüft” frequency rank
- 10161
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prüfen | prüft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | feststellen, inwiefern einer Bedingung genügt wird | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs prüfen |
Where the eye mixes prüfen and prüft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. prüfen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against prüft's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: prüfen vs prüft
A purely visual mix-up. prüfen ([ˈpʁyːfn̩]) and prüft ([pʁyːft]) 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 10161, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prüfen is recorded at frequency rank #2,781, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁyːfn̩]. prüft is at rank #7,380, tagged as averb, pronounced [pʁyːft].
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 10161, this pair ranks #1,976,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prüfen vs prüft
Shared letters: fprü. Private to "prüfen": en. Private to "prüft": t.
"prüfen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "prüft" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prüfen" for "prüft" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "prüfen" or "prüft" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prüfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prüft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,496 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prüfen" and "prüft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prüf vs prüft". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,976,496 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.