dauernvsdauerndeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,883
“dauern” frequency rank
#24,290
“dauernde” frequency rank
27173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dauern dauernde
Definition über bestimmten Zeitraum erstrecken, für eine bestimmt Zeitspanne anhalten, währen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dauernd

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dauern and dauernde apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
dauern
8 ch
dauernde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dauern is [ˈdaʊ̯ɐn] while dauernde is [ˈdaʊ̯ɐndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dauern” sits inside “dauernde”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dauern is recorded at frequency rank #2,883, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐn]. dauernde is at rank #24,290, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐndə].

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 27173, this pair ranks #1,806,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dauern vs dauernde

Shared letters: adenru. Private to "dauern": -. Private to "dauernde": -.

"dauern" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC  ·  "dauernde" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dauernaduern · daeurn · dauenr · dauernn · dauerrn · dauren · ddauern · duaern
  • dauerndeaduernde · daeurnde · dauenrde · dauerdne · dauerndde · dauerned · dauernnde · dauerrnde

Frequency comparison

dauern#2,883
dauernde#24,290

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dauern" and "dauernde" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dauern" is a verb and "dauernde" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dauern" or "dauernde"?
"dauern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,883 in our German list, against #24,290 for "dauernde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dauern vs dauernde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “dauern”; for an adjective, it's “dauernde”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dauern” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list