Which to use
“umfassen” and “umfasst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,643
- “umfassen” frequency rank
- #2,745
- “umfasst” frequency rank
- 11388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | umfassen | umfasst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas umgreifen, umfangen, umgeben | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs umfassen |
Where the eye mixes umfassen and umfasst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. umfassen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against umfasst's 7 (VCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses umfassen with umfasst
A purely visual mix-up. umfassen ([ʊmˈfasn̩]) and umfasst ([ˌʊmˈfast]) 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 11388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
umfassen is recorded at frequency rank #8,643, classified as averb, pronounced [ʊmˈfasn̩]. umfasst is at rank #2,745, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊmˈfast].
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 11388, this pair ranks #1,970,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of umfassen vs umfasst
Shared letters: afmsu. Private to "umfassen": en. Private to "umfasst": t.
"umfassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "umfasst" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "umfassen" and "umfasst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "umfassen" or "umfasst" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "umfassen" and "umfasst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "umfassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "umfasst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,970,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "umfassen" and "umfasst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umfassen vs Umrissen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,970,133 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.