widersprechenvsWidersprücheWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#6,995
“widersprechen” frequency rank
#14,464
“Widersprüche” frequency rank
21459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature widersprechen Widersprüche
Definition auf eine Aussage mit einer gegenteiligen Aussage antworten Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Widerspruch

Where the eye mixes widersprechen and Widersprüche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. widersprechen runs 13 letters (CVCVCCCCVCCVC) against Widersprüche's 12 (CVCVCCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
widersprechen
12 ch
Widersprüche

Look-alike desk: widersprechen vs Widersprüche

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: widersprechen is [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçn̩] while Widersprüche is [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçə]. 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 21459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

widersprechen is recorded at frequency rank #6,995, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌviːdɐˈʃpʁɛçn̩]. Widersprüche is at rank #14,464, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçə].

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 21459, this pair ranks #1,886,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of widersprechen vs Widersprüche

Shared letters: cdehiprsw. Private to "widersprechen": n. Private to "Widersprüche": ü.

"widersprechen" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "Widersprüche" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • widersprechen ← iwdersprechen · wdiersprechen · widdersprechen · widerpsrechen · widerrsprechen · widersperchen · widerspprechen · widersprcehen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "widersprechen" and "Widersprüche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "widersprechen" is a verb and "Widersprüche" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "widersprechen" vs "Widersprüche" - which ranks higher?
"widersprechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,995 in our German list, against #14,464 for "Widersprüche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "widersprechen" and "Widersprüche" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "widersprechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Widersprüche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,886,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "widersprechen" and "Widersprüche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Widersprüche vs Widersprüchen". 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 #1,886,014 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list