entschuldigevsentschuldigenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,533
“entschuldige” frequency rank
#5,259
“entschuldigen” frequency rank
14792
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entschuldige entschuldigen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entschuldigen freisprechen von einer Schuld

Where the eye mixes entschuldige and entschuldigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. entschuldige runs 12 letters (VCCCCCVCCVCV) against entschuldigen's 13 (VCCCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
entschuldige
13 ch
entschuldigen

Visual trap between entschuldige and entschuldigen

A purely visual mix-up. entschuldige ([ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡə]) and entschuldigen ([ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡn̩]) 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) - “entschuldige” sits inside “entschuldigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entschuldige is recorded at frequency rank #9,533, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡə]. entschuldigen is at rank #5,259, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡn̩].

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 14792, this pair ranks #1,948,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entschuldige vs entschuldigen

Shared letters: cdeghilnstu. Private to "entschuldige": -. Private to "entschuldigen": -.

"entschuldige" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCV  ·  "entschuldigen" · 13 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entschuldige ← enntschuldige · enstchuldige · entcshuldige · entscchuldige · entschhuldige · entschludige · entschudlige · entschulddige
  • entschuldigen ← enntschuldigen · enstchuldigen · entcshuldigen · entscchuldigen · entschhuldigen · entschludigen · entschudligen · entschulddigen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entschuldige" and "entschuldigen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡə] versus [ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entschuldige" or "entschuldigen"?
"entschuldigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,259 in our German list, against #9,533 for "entschuldige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "entschuldige" and "entschuldigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entschuldige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entschuldigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,948,705 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entschuldige" and "entschuldigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entschädigen vs entschuldigen". 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 #1,948,705 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