StrahlenvsstrahlendeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Strahlen is a noun, strahlende is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#8,632
“Strahlen” frequency rank
#24,527
“strahlende” frequency rank
33159
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Strahlen strahlende
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Strahl Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs strahlend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Strahlen and strahlende apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Strahlen
10 ch
strahlende

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Strahlen is [ˈʃtʁaːlən] while strahlende is [ˈʃtʁaːləndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Strahlen” sits inside “strahlende”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Strahlen is recorded at frequency rank #8,632, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaːlən]. strahlende is at rank #24,527, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaːləndə].

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 33159, this pair ranks #1,692,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Strahlen vs strahlende

Shared letters: aehlnrst. Private to "Strahlen": -. Private to "strahlende": d.

"Strahlen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "strahlende" · 10 letters · shape CCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Strahlensrtahlen · sstrahlen · starhlen · straheln · strahhlen · strahlenn · strahllen · strahlne
  • strahlendesrtahlende · sstrahlende · starhlende · strahelnde · strahhlende · strahledne · strahlendde · strahlened

Frequency comparison

Strahlen#8,632
strahlende#24,527

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Strahlen" and "strahlende" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Strahlen" is a noun and "strahlende" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Strahlen" or "strahlende"?
"Strahlen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,632 in our German list, against #24,527 for "strahlende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Strahlen vs strahlende

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Strahlen”; for an adjective, it's “strahlende”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Strahlen” 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