Which to use
“Langeweile” is a noun and “langweilen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,401
- “Langeweile” frequency rank
- #22,807
- “langweilen” frequency rank
- 32208
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Langeweile | langweilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gefühl der Untätigkeit, der Eintönigkeit | jemanden/sich selbst so behandeln, dass sich bei ihm ein Gefühl der Untätigkeit, der Eintönigkeit einstellt |
Where the eye mixes Langeweile and langweilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Langeweile (CVCCVCVVCV) and langweilen (CVCCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Langeweile and langweilen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Langeweile is [ˈlaŋəˌvaɪ̯lə] while langweilen is [ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 6 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Langeweile is recorded at frequency rank #9,401, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaŋəˌvaɪ̯lə]. langweilen is at rank #22,807, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lən].
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 32208, this pair ranks #1,712,444 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Langeweile vs langweilen
Shared letters: aegilnw. Private to "Langeweile": -. Private to "langweilen": -.
"Langeweile" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCV · "langweilen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Langeweile ← alngeweile · lagneweile · lanegweile · langeewile · langeweiel · langeweille · langewelie · langewiele
- langweilen ← alngweilen · lagnweilen · langewilen · langgweilen · langweieln · langweilenn · langweillen · langweilne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Langeweile" for "langweilen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Langeweile" or "langweilen" show up more?
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 "Langeweile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "langweilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,712,444 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Langeweile" and "langweilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "langweile vs langweilen". 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 #1,712,444 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.