grundlegendevsgrundlegendenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,058
“grundlegende” frequency rank
#10,668
“grundlegenden” frequency rank
17726
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grundlegende grundlegenden
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs grundlegend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs grundlegend

Where the eye mixes grundlegende and grundlegenden

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

12 ch
grundlegende
13 ch
grundlegenden

Look-alike desk: grundlegende vs grundlegenden

A purely visual mix-up. grundlegende ([ˈɡʁʊntˌleːɡn̩də]) and grundlegenden ([ˈɡʁʊntˌleːɡn̩dən]) 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) - “grundlegende” sits inside “grundlegenden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grundlegende is recorded at frequency rank #7,058, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁʊntˌleːɡn̩də]. grundlegenden is at rank #10,668, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁʊntˌleːɡn̩dən].

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 17726, this pair ranks #1,924,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of grundlegende vs grundlegenden

Shared letters: deglnru. Private to "grundlegende": -. Private to "grundlegenden": -.

"grundlegende" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCCVCVCCV  ·  "grundlegenden" · 13 letters · shape CCVCCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grundlegendeggrundlegende · grnudlegende · grrundlegende · grudnlegende · grunddlegende · grundelgende · grundleegnde · grundlegedne
  • grundlegendenggrundlegenden · grnudlegenden · grrundlegenden · grudnlegenden · grunddlegenden · grundelgenden · grundleegnden · grundlegednen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grundlegende" and "grundlegenden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁʊntˌleːɡn̩də] versus [ˈɡʁʊntˌleːɡn̩dən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "grundlegende" or "grundlegenden" show up more?
"grundlegende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,058 in our German list, against #10,668 for "grundlegenden". 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 "grundlegende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grundlegenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,924,841 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grundlegende" and "grundlegenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grundlegenden vs grundlegender". 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 #1,924,841 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