abhängigevsabhängigenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,897
“abhängige” frequency rank
#30,422
“abhängigen” frequency rank
61319
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abhängige abhängigen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abhängig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abhängig

Where the eye mixes abhängige and abhängigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abhängige runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against abhängigen's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
abhängige
10 ch
abhängigen

Why the eye confuses abhängige with abhängigen

A purely visual mix-up. abhängige ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “abhängige” sits inside “abhängigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abhängige is recorded at frequency rank #30,897, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡə]. 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 61319, this pair ranks #754,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abhängige vs abhängigen

Shared letters: abeghinä. Private to "abhängige": -. Private to "abhängigen": -.

"abhängige" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV  ·  "abhängigen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abhängige" for "abhängigen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡə] versus [ˈapˌhɛŋɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abhängige" vs "abhängigen" - which ranks higher?
"abhängigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,422 in our German list, against #30,897 for "abhängige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abhängige" 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 #754,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abhängige" and "abhängigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abhängige vs anhängig". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #754,227 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