verkleinernvsVerkleinerungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#27,546
“verkleinern” frequency rank
#33,883
“Verkleinerung” frequency rank
61429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkleinern Verkleinerung
Definition die Größe von etwas verringern eine Umgestaltung eines Objektes, so dass es gegenüber seiner Urform kleiner ist

Where the spellings diverge

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

11 ch
verkleinern
13 ch
Verkleinerung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verkleinern is [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯nɐn] while Verkleinerung is [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯nəʁʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 61429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkleinern is recorded at frequency rank #27,546, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯nɐn]. Verkleinerung is at rank #33,883, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈklaɪ̯nəʁʊŋ].

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 61429, this pair ranks #750,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verkleinern vs Verkleinerung

Shared letters: eiklnrv. Private to "verkleinern": -. Private to "Verkleinerung": gu.

"verkleinern" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVCC  ·  "Verkleinerung" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verkleinernevrkleinern · vekrleinern · verkelinern · verkkleinern · verkleienrn · verkleinenr · verkleinernn · verkleinerrn
  • Verkleinerungevrkleinerung · vekrleinerung · verkelinerung · verkkleinerung · verkleienrung · verkleinernug · verkleinerrung · verkleinerugn

Frequency comparison

verkleinern#27,546
Verkleinerung#33,883

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkleinern" and "Verkleinerung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verkleinern" is a verb and "Verkleinerung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verkleinern" or "Verkleinerung"?
"verkleinern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,546 in our German list, against #33,883 for "Verkleinerung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkleinern vs Verkleinerung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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