PrügelvsprügelnWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,805
“Prügel” frequency rank
#15,976
“prügeln” frequency rank
32781
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Prügel prügeln
Definition Schläge, die im Zuge einer körperlichen Auseinandersetzung ausgeteilt werden auf jemanden, etwas mit oder ohne Hilfsmittel wiederholt einschlagen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Prügel and prügeln apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Prügel
7 ch
prügeln

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Prügel is [ˈpʁyːɡl̩] while prügeln is [ˈpʁyːɡl̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Prügel” sits inside “prügeln”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32781, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Prügel is recorded at frequency rank #16,805, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpʁyːɡl̩]. prügeln is at rank #15,976, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpʁyːɡl̩n].

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 32781, this pair ranks #1,700,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Prügel vs prügeln

Shared letters: eglprü. Private to "Prügel": -. Private to "prügeln": n.

"Prügel" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "prügeln" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

Prügel#16,805
prügeln#15,976

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Prügel" and "prügeln" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Prügel" is a noun and "prügeln" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Prügel" or "prügeln"?
"prügeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,976 in our German list, against #16,805 for "Prügel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Prügel vs prügeln

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Prügel”; for a verb, it's “prügeln”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Prügel” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list