verkündenvsverkürzenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“verkünden” and “verkürzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,195
“verkünden” frequency rank
#16,583
“verkürzen” frequency rank
28778
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verkünden verkürzen
Definition öffentlich sagen in der Länge kleiner machen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verkünden and verkürzen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verkünden
9 ch
verkürzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verkünden ([fɛɐ̯ˈkʏndn̩]) and verkürzen ([fɛɐ̯ˈkʏʁt͡sn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verkünden is recorded at frequency rank #12,195, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkʏndn̩]. verkürzen is at rank #16,583, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈkʏʁt͡sn̩].

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 28778, this pair ranks #1,778,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verkünden vs verkürzen

Shared letters: eknrvü. Private to "verkünden": d. Private to "verkürzen": z.

"verkünden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "verkürzen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

verkünden#12,195
verkürzen#16,583

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verkünden" and "verkürzen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈkʏndn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈkʏʁt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verkünden" or "verkürzen"?
"verkünden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,195 in our German list, against #16,583 for "verkürzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verkünden vs verkürzen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verkünden” 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