widersprechevsWidersprüchenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#31,881
“widerspreche” frequency rank
#42,265
“Widersprüchen” frequency rank
74146
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature widerspreche Widersprüchen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs widersprechen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Widerspruch

Where the spellings diverge

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

12 ch
widerspreche
13 ch
Widersprüchen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: widerspreche is [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçə] while Widersprüchen is [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçn̩]. 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 74146, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

widerspreche is recorded at frequency rank #31,881, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçə]. Widersprüchen is at rank #42,265, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçn̩].

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 74146, this pair ranks #341,207 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of widerspreche vs Widersprüchen

Shared letters: cdehiprsw. Private to "widerspreche": -. Private to "Widersprüchen": .

"widerspreche" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCV  ·  "Widersprüchen" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • widersprecheiwderspreche · wdierspreche · widderspreche · widerpsreche · widerrspreche · widersperche · widersppreche · widersprcehe

Frequency comparison

widerspreche#31,881
Widersprüchen#42,265

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "widerspreche" and "Widersprüchen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "widerspreche" is a verb and "Widersprüchen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "widerspreche" or "Widersprüchen"?
"widerspreche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,881 in our German list, against #42,265 for "Widersprüchen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering widerspreche vs Widersprüchen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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