intelligentevsIntelligenzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: intelligente is a adjective, Intelligenz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“intelligente” is an adjective and “Intelligenz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,495
“intelligente” frequency rank
#4,523
“Intelligenz” frequency rank
15018
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intelligente Intelligenz
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs intelligent kognitive Leistungsfähigkeit

Where the eye mixes intelligente and Intelligenz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. intelligente runs 12 letters (VCCVCCVCVCCV) against Intelligenz's 11 (VCCVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
intelligente
11 ch
Intelligenz

Visual trap between intelligente and Intelligenz

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intelligente is [ɪntɛliˈɡɛntə] while Intelligenz is [ɪntɛliˈɡɛnt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intelligente is recorded at frequency rank #10,495, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɪntɛliˈɡɛntə]. Intelligenz is at rank #4,523, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪntɛliˈɡɛnt͡s].

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 15018, this pair ranks #1,947,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intelligente vs Intelligenz

Shared letters: egilnt. Private to "intelligente": -. Private to "Intelligenz": z.

"intelligente" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV  ·  "Intelligenz" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intelligente ← inetlligente · inntelligente · inteligente · intelilgente · intellgiente · intelliegnte · intelligenet · intelligennte
  • Intelligenz ← inetlligenz · inntelligenz · inteligenz · intelilgenz · intellgienz · intelliegnz · intelligennz · intelligenzz

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "intelligente" and "Intelligenz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intelligente" is an adjective and "Intelligenz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "intelligente" or "Intelligenz"?
"Intelligenz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,523 in our German list, against #10,495 for "intelligente". 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 "intelligente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Intelligenz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intelligente" and "Intelligenz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intelligente vs intelligentes". 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 #1,947,041 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