teilenvsTeilungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,023
“teilen” frequency rank
#10,757
“Teilung” frequency rank
11780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teilen Teilung
Definition ein Ganzes in Bestandteile zerlegen Zerlegung/Aufteilung einer Einheit oder Menge in mindestens zwei Bestandteile

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set teilen and Teilung apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
teilen
7 ch
Teilung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: teilen is [ˈtaɪ̯lən] while Teilung is [ˈtaɪ̯lʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teilen is recorded at frequency rank #1,023, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lən]. Teilung is at rank #10,757, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lʊŋ].

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 11780, this pair ranks #1,967,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of teilen vs Teilung

Shared letters: eilnt. Private to "teilen": -. Private to "Teilung": gu.

"teilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Teilung" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teilenetilen · teieln · teilenn · teillen · teilne · telien · tielen · tteilen
  • Teilungetilung · teillung · teilnug · teilugn · teilungg · teilunng · teiulng · teliung

Frequency comparison

teilen#1,023
Teilung#10,757

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teilen" and "Teilung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "teilen" is a verb and "Teilung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "teilen" or "Teilung"?
"teilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,023 in our German list, against #10,757 for "Teilung". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering teilen vs Teilung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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