zubereitenvsZubereitungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,583
“zubereiten” frequency rank
#16,613
“Zubereitung” frequency rank
39196
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zubereiten Zubereitung
Definition Essen kochen, Speisen anrichten Vorgang, bei dem etwas (meist nach einer Anleitung) zubereitet wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set zubereiten and Zubereitung apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
zubereiten
11 ch
Zubereitung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zubereiten is [ˈt͡suːbəˌʁaɪ̯tn̩] while Zubereitung is [ˈt͡suːbəˌʁaɪ̯tʊŋ]. 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 39196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zubereiten is recorded at frequency rank #22,583, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːbəˌʁaɪ̯tn̩]. Zubereitung is at rank #16,613, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡suːbəˌʁaɪ̯tʊŋ].

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 39196, this pair ranks #1,543,397 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zubereiten vs Zubereitung

Shared letters: beinrtuz. Private to "zubereiten": -. Private to "Zubereitung": g.

"zubereiten" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVC  ·  "Zubereitung" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zubereitenuzbereiten · zbuereiten · zubbereiten · zubeeriten · zubereietn · zubereitenn · zubereitne · zubereitten
  • Zubereitunguzbereitung · zbuereitung · zubbereitung · zubeeritung · zubereitnug · zubereittung · zubereitugn · zubereitungg

Frequency comparison

zubereiten#22,583
Zubereitung#16,613

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zubereiten" and "Zubereitung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zubereiten" is a verb and "Zubereitung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "zubereiten" or "Zubereitung"?
"Zubereitung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,613 in our German list, against #22,583 for "zubereiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering zubereiten vs Zubereitung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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