langsamvslangsameWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#751
“langsam” frequency rank
#16,209
“langsame” frequency rank
16960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature langsam langsame
Definition eine niedrige Geschwindigkeit aufweisend, lange Zeit benötigend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs langsam

Where the eye mixes langsam and langsame

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
langsam
8 ch
langsame

Look-alike desk: langsam vs langsame

A purely visual mix-up. langsam ([ˈlaŋzaːm]) and langsame ([ˈlaŋzaːmə]) 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) - “langsam” sits inside “langsame”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

langsam is recorded at frequency rank #751, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaŋzaːm]. langsame is at rank #16,209, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaŋzaːmə].

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 16960, this pair ranks #1,931,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of langsam vs langsame

Shared letters: aglmns. Private to "langsam": -. Private to "langsame": e.

"langsam" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "langsame" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • langsamalngsam · lagnsam · langasm · langgsam · langsamm · langsma · langssam · lanngsam
  • langsamealngsame · lagnsame · langasme · langgsame · langsaem · langsamme · langsmae · langssame

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "langsam" and "langsame" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaŋzaːm] versus [ˈlaŋzaːmə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "langsam" or "langsame" show up more?
"langsam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #751 in our German list, against #16,209 for "langsame". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "langsam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "langsame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,931,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "langsam" and "langsame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "langsame vs langsames". 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 #1,931,547 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