empfangen

[ɛmˈp͡faŋən]

/[ɛmˈp͡faŋən]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“empfangen” has 14 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #3,883. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,883
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - etwas bekommen

Corpus desk

Index DE-empfangen · empfangen · German

empfangen · rank #3,883 · 14 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,883
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH ehren

Nearest frequency peer: ehren (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “empfangen”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “empfangen” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

empfangen vs Empfänger
67% similar
empfangen vs empfinden
78% similar
empfangen vs empfunden
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for empfangen
PropertyValue
Headwordempfangen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ɛmˈp͡faŋən]
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,883
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “empfangen” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).empfangenliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „ehren“ (#3,882), „Entstehung“ (#3,884), „Drama“ (#3,881). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around empfangen (IPA [ɛmˈp͡faŋən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,883 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for empfangen, with forms such as "emfpangen", "emmpfangen", and "empafngen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "Empfänger", "empfinden", "empfunden", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is empfangen, spelled E-M-P-F-A-N-G-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas bekommen
  2. 2
    Ankommenden begrüßen oder aufnehmen
  3. 3
    schwanger werden

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how empfangen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Er empfing gestern endlich das Paket.
  2. „Als aber der Krieg zu Ende war und der Soldat der vielen Wunden wegen, die er empfangen hatte, nicht weiterdienen konnte, sprach der König zu ihm: ‚Du kannst heimgehen, ich brauche dich nicht mehr. Geld bekommst du weiter nicht, denn Lohn erhält nur der, welcher mir Dienste dafür leistet‘ “

This word in other languages

receive(English)recibir(Español)recevoir(Français)conceber(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emfpangen
  • emmpfangen
  • empafngen
  • empfagnen
  • empfanegn
  • empfangenn
  • empfanggen
  • empfangne
  • empfanngen
  • empffangen
  • empfnagen
  • emppfangen
  • epmfangen
  • mepfangen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of empfangen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

emfpangen2emmpfangen1empafngen2empfagnen2empfanegn2empfangenn1empfanggen1empfangne2
Edit distance from "empfangen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "empfangen"?
"empfangen" is spelled E-M-P-F-A-N-G-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛmˈp͡faŋən].
What does "empfangen" mean?
As a verb, "empfangen" means: etwas bekommen
What words are commonly confused with "empfangen"?
"empfangen" is commonly confused with "Empfänger", "empfinden", "empfunden". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "empfangen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "empfangen" is [ɛmˈp͡faŋən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "empfangen" come from?
"empfangen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "empfangen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gerechnet#3,889Beschluss#3,872Konferenz#3,902Zeitungen#3,863

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

Ausstattung14 variantsverbinden14 variantsReaktionen14 variantsrömischen14 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "empfangen". Here's where to go from here.

  • "empfangen" maps to 10 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Empfänger". View pair
  • 14 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #3,883 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "E" letter cohort. E–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list