vereinfachenvsVereinfachungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#20,451
“vereinfachen” frequency rank
#22,945
“Vereinfachung” frequency rank
43396
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vereinfachen Vereinfachung
Definition etwas einfacher machen oder darstellen Vorgang, etwas einfacher oder weniger kompliziert zu machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vereinfachen and Vereinfachung apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
vereinfachen
13 ch
Vereinfachung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vereinfachen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nfaxn̩] while Vereinfachung is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nfaxʊŋ]. 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 43396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vereinfachen is recorded at frequency rank #20,451, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nfaxn̩]. Vereinfachung is at rank #22,945, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯nfaxʊŋ].

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 43396, this pair ranks #1,419,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vereinfachen vs Vereinfachung

Shared letters: acefhinrv. Private to "vereinfachen": -. Private to "Vereinfachung": gu.

"vereinfachen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCCVC  ·  "Vereinfachung" · 13 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vereinfachenevreinfachen · veerinfachen · vereifnachen · vereinafchen · vereinfacchen · vereinfacehn · vereinfachenn · vereinfachhen
  • Vereinfachungevreinfachung · veerinfachung · vereifnachung · vereinafchung · vereinfacchung · vereinfachhung · vereinfachnug · vereinfachugn

Frequency comparison

vereinfachen#20,451
Vereinfachung#22,945

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vereinfachen" and "Vereinfachung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vereinfachen" is a verb and "Vereinfachung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vereinfachen" or "Vereinfachung"?
"vereinfachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,451 in our German list, against #22,945 for "Vereinfachung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vereinfachen vs Vereinfachung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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