langenvslängerenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: langen is a verb, längeren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“langen” is a verb and “längeren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,204
“langen” frequency rank
#5,009
“längeren” frequency rank
6213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature langen längeren
Definition sich einem Gegenstand entgegen strecken, um ihn zu ergreifen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs lang

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set langen and längeren apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
langen
8 ch
längeren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: langen is [ˈlaŋən] while längeren is [ˈlɛŋəʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

langen is recorded at frequency rank #1,204, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaŋən]. längeren is at rank #5,009, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɛŋəʁən].

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 6213, this pair ranks #1,992,364 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of langen vs längeren

Shared letters: egln. Private to "langen": a. Private to "längeren": .

"langen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "längeren" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • langenalngen · lagnen · lanegn · langenn · langgen · langne · lanngen · llangen

Frequency comparison

langen#1,204
längeren#5,009

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "langen" and "längeren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "langen" is a verb and "längeren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "langen" or "längeren"?
"langen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,204 in our German list, against #5,009 for "längeren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering langen vs längeren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “langen”; for an adjective, it's “längeren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “langen” 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