Which to use
“fortschreiten” is a verb and “fortschreitende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,400
- “fortschreiten” frequency rank
- #35,774
- “fortschreitende” frequency rank
- 83174
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fortschreiten | fortschreitende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich weiterentwickeln, Fortschritte machen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fortschreitend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fortschreiten and fortschreitende apart are highlighted. They share 13 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fortschreiten is [ˈfɔʁtˌʃʁaɪ̯tn̩] while fortschreitende is [ˈfɔʁtˌʃʁaɪ̯tn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fortschreiten” sits inside “fortschreitende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fortschreiten is recorded at frequency rank #47,400, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔʁtˌʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]. fortschreitende is at rank #35,774, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfɔʁtˌʃʁaɪ̯tn̩də].
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 83174, this pair ranks #144,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fortschreiten vs fortschreitende
Shared letters: cefhinorst. Private to "fortschreiten": -. Private to "fortschreitende": d.
"fortschreiten" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCCCVVCVC · "fortschreitende" · 15 letters · shape CVCCCCCCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fortschreiten ← ffortschreiten · forrtschreiten · forstchreiten · fortcshreiten · fortscchreiten · fortscheriten · fortschhreiten · fortschreietn
- fortschreitende ← ffortschreitende · forrtschreitende · forstchreitende · fortcshreitende · fortscchreitende · fortscheritende · fortschhreitende · fortschreietnde
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fortschreiten" and "fortschreitende" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fortschreiten" or "fortschreitende"?
Remembering fortschreiten vs fortschreitende
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fortschreiten”; for an adjective, it's “fortschreitende”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fortschreiten” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable