vorwerfenvsVorwürfenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#14,205
“vorwerfen” frequency rank
#16,598
“Vorwürfen” frequency rank
30803
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorwerfen Vorwürfen
Definition jemandem tadelnd sagen, dass er oder sie sich unrichtig verhält oder Fehler macht Dativ Plural des Substantivs Vorwurf

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vorwerfen and Vorwürfen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
vorwerfen
9 ch
Vorwürfen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vorwerfen is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvɛʁfn̩] while Vorwürfen is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʏʁfn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “vorwerfen” becomes ü in “Vorwürfen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30803, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorwerfen is recorded at frequency rank #14,205, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvɛʁfn̩]. Vorwürfen is at rank #16,598, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌvʏʁfn̩].

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 30803, this pair ranks #1,740,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorwerfen vs Vorwürfen

Shared letters: efnorvw. Private to "vorwerfen": -. Private to "Vorwürfen": ü.

"vorwerfen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "Vorwürfen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorwerfenovrwerfen · vorewrfen · vorrwerfen · vorwefren · vorwerefn · vorwerfenn · vorwerffen · vorwerfne

Frequency comparison

vorwerfen#14,205
Vorwürfen#16,598

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorwerfen" and "Vorwürfen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vorwerfen" is a verb and "Vorwürfen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vorwerfen" or "Vorwürfen"?
"vorwerfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,205 in our German list, against #16,598 for "Vorwürfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vorwerfen vs Vorwürfen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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