andauernvsandauerndWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: andauern is a verb, andauernd is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“andauern” is a verb and “andauernd” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,054
“andauern” frequency rank
#10,800
“andauernd” frequency rank
38854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature andauern andauernd
Definition sich weiter fortführen; zeitlich weitergehen die ganze Zeit über, immer wieder

Where the eye mixes andauern and andauernd

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. andauern runs 8 letters (VCCVVVCC) against andauernd's 9 (VCCVVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
andauern
9 ch
andauernd

Why the eye confuses andauern with andauernd

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: andauern is [ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐn] while andauernd is [ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “andauern” sits inside “andauernd”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

andauern is recorded at frequency rank #28,054, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐn]. andauernd is at rank #10,800, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈanˌdaʊ̯ɐnt].

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 38854, this pair ranks #1,552,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of andauern vs andauernd

Shared letters: adenru. Private to "andauern": -. Private to "andauernd": -.

"andauern" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVVCC  ·  "andauernd" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • andauern ← adnauern · anaduern · andaeurn · andauenr · andauernn · andauerrn · andauren · anddauern
  • andauernd ← adnauernd · anaduernd · andaeurnd · andauenrd · andauerdn · andauerndd · andauernnd · andauerrnd

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "andauern" and "andauernd" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "andauern" is a verb and "andauernd" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "andauern" or "andauernd" show up more?
"andauernd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,800 in our German list, against #28,054 for "andauern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "andauern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "andauernd" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,552,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "andauern" and "andauernd" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "andauern vs anheuern". 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 #1,552,863 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