EntschuldigungvsEntschuldigungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,115
“Entschuldigung” frequency rank
#40,508
“Entschuldigungen” frequency rank
44623
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Entschuldigung Entschuldigungen
Definition Äußerung des Bedauerns über einen eigenen Fehler Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Entschuldigung

Where the eye mixes Entschuldigung and Entschuldigungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 14 letters in sequence. Entschuldigung runs 14 letters (VCCCCCVCCVCVCC) against Entschuldigungen's 16 (VCCCCCVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

14 ch
Entschuldigung
16 ch
Entschuldigungen

Visual trap between Entschuldigung and Entschuldigungen

A purely visual mix-up. Entschuldigung ([ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋ]) and Entschuldigungen ([ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋən]) 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) - “Entschuldigung” sits inside “Entschuldigungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Entschuldigung is recorded at frequency rank #4,115, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋ]. Entschuldigungen is at rank #40,508, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋən].

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 44623, this pair ranks #1,380,165 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Entschuldigung vs Entschuldigungen

Shared letters: cdeghilnstu. Private to "Entschuldigung": -. Private to "Entschuldigungen": -.

"Entschuldigung" · 14 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCVCC  ·  "Entschuldigungen" · 16 letters · shape VCCCCCVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Entschuldigung ← enntschuldigung · enstchuldigung · entcshuldigung · entscchuldigung · entschhuldigung · entschludigung · entschudligung · entschulddigung
  • Entschuldigungen ← enntschuldigungen · enstchuldigungen · entcshuldigungen · entscchuldigungen · entschhuldigungen · entschludigungen · entschudligungen · entschulddigungen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Entschuldigung" for "Entschuldigungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋ] versus [ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Entschuldigung" or "Entschuldigungen"?
"Entschuldigung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,115 in our German list, against #40,508 for "Entschuldigungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Entschuldigung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Entschuldigungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,380,165 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Entschuldigung" and "Entschuldigungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Entschädigungen vs Entschuldigungen". 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 #1,380,165 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