Which to use
“verkünden” and “verwundern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,195
- “verkünden” frequency rank
- #40,293
- “verwundern” frequency rank
- 52488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | verkünden | verwundern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | öffentlich sagen | jemanden erstaunen lassen, in Erstaunen über etwas versetzen |
Where the eye mixes verkünden and verwundern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. verkünden runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against verwundern's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses verkünden with verwundern
A purely visual mix-up. verkünden ([fɛɐ̯ˈkʏndn̩]) and verwundern ([fɛɐ̯ˈvʊndɐn]) 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 52488, 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]. verwundern is at rank #40,293, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈvʊndɐn].
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 52488, this pair ranks #1,094,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of verkünden vs verwundern
Shared letters: denrv. Private to "verkünden": kü. Private to "verwundern": uw.
"verkünden" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "verwundern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- verwundern ← evrwundern · verrwundern · veruwndern · verwnudern · verwudnern · verwunddern · verwundenr · verwundernn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "verkünden" and "verwundern" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "verkünden" vs "verwundern" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "verkünden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "verwundern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,094,798 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "verkünden" and "verwundern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vermindern vs verwundern". 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 #1,094,798 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.