frühzeitigvsfrühzeitigenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,048
“frühzeitig” frequency rank
#43,887
“frühzeitigen” frequency rank
50935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature frühzeitig frühzeitigen
Definition zu einem relativ frühen Zeitpunkt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs frühzeitig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set frühzeitig and frühzeitigen apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
frühzeitig
12 ch
frühzeitigen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. frühzeitig ([ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç]) and frühzeitigen ([ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪɡn̩]) 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) - “frühzeitig” sits inside “frühzeitigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

frühzeitig is recorded at frequency rank #7,048, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç]. frühzeitigen is at rank #43,887, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪɡn̩].

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 50935, this pair ranks #1,154,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of frühzeitig vs frühzeitigen

Shared letters: efghirtzü. Private to "frühzeitig": -. Private to "frühzeitigen": n.

"frühzeitig" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVVCVC  ·  "frühzeitigen" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCVVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

frühzeitig#7,048
frühzeitigen#43,887

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "frühzeitig" and "frühzeitigen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç] versus [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "frühzeitig" or "frühzeitigen"?
"frühzeitig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,048 in our German list, against #43,887 for "frühzeitigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering frühzeitig vs frühzeitigen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frühzeitig” 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