störendvsStörungWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: störend is a adjective, Störung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“störend” is an adjective and “Störung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,075
“störend” frequency rank
#4,655
“Störung” frequency rank
24730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature störend Störung
Definition behindernd in einem Ablauf oder Prozess unerwünschte Beeinträchtigung

Where the eye mixes störend and Störung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. störend and Störung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
störend
7 ch
Störung

Visual trap between störend and Störung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: störend is [ˈʃtøːʁənt] while Störung is [ˈʃtøːʁʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

störend is recorded at frequency rank #20,075, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtøːʁənt]. Störung is at rank #4,655, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtøːʁʊŋ].

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 24730, this pair ranks #1,843,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of störend vs Störung

Shared letters: nrstö. Private to "störend": de. Private to "Störung": gu.

"störend" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC  ·  "Störung" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "störend" and "Störung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "störend" is an adjective and "Störung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "störend" or "Störung" show up more?
"Störung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,655 in our German list, against #20,075 for "störend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "störend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Störung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,843,545 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "störend" and "Störung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stoned vs störend". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,843,545 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