abhängigvsabhängigenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“abhängig” and “abhängigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,528
“abhängig” frequency rank
#30,422
“abhängigen” frequency rank
32950
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhängig abhängigen
Definition nicht ohne etwas oder jemanden zurechtkommend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abhängig

Where the eye mixes abhängig and abhängigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abhängig runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against abhängigen's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
abhängig
10 ch
abhängigen

Why the eye confuses abhängig with abhängigen

A purely visual mix-up. abhängig ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪç]) and abhängigen ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “abhängig” sits inside “abhängigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhängig is recorded at frequency rank #2,528, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapˌhɛŋɪç]. abhängigen is at rank #30,422, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡn̩].

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 32950, this pair ranks #1,696,590 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abhängig vs abhängigen

Shared letters: abghinä. Private to "abhängig": -. Private to "abhängigen": e.

"abhängig" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "abhängigen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abhängig" for "abhängigen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪç] versus [ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "abhängig" or "abhängigen" show up more?
"abhängig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,528 in our German list, against #30,422 for "abhängigen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abhängig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "abhängigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,696,590 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abhängig" and "abhängigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhängige vs abhängigen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,696,590 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