gierigvsgierigenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,274
“gierig” frequency rank
#46,694
“gierigen” frequency rank
66968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gierig gierigen
Definition triebartig danach verlangend, etwas zu bekommen oder zu besitzen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gierig

Where the eye mixes gierig and gierigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gierig runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against gierigen's 8 (CVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gierig
8 ch
gierigen

Visual trap between gierig and gierigen

A purely visual mix-up. gierig ([ˈɡiːʁɪç]) and gierigen ([ˈɡiːʁɪɡn̩]) 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) - “gierig” sits inside “gierigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gierig is recorded at frequency rank #20,274, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡiːʁɪç]. gierigen is at rank #46,694, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡiːʁɪɡn̩].

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 66968, this pair ranks #555,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gierig vs gierigen

Shared letters: egir. Private to "gierig": -. Private to "gierigen": n.

"gierig" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "gierigen" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gierig ← geirig · ggierig · gieirg · giergi · gierigg · gierrig · gireig · igerig
  • gierigen ← geirigen · ggierigen · gieirgen · giergien · gieriegn · gierigenn · gieriggen · gierigne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gierig" and "gierigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡiːʁɪç] versus [ˈɡiːʁɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gierig" or "gierigen"?
"gierig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,274 in our German list, against #46,694 for "gierigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gierig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gierigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #555,670 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gierig" and "gierigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Geigen vs gierigen". 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 #555,670 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