Which to use
“langweile” and “langweilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,149
- “langweile” frequency rank
- #22,807
- “langweilen” frequency rank
- 53956
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | langweile | langweilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs langweilen | jemanden/sich selbst so behandeln, dass sich bei ihm ein Gefühl der Untätigkeit, der Eintönigkeit einstellt |
Where the eye mixes langweile and langweilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. langweile runs 9 letters (CVCCCVVCV) against langweilen's 10 (CVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: langweile vs langweilen
A purely visual mix-up. langweile ([ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lə]) and langweilen ([ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lən]) 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) - “langweile” sits inside “langweilen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
langweile is recorded at frequency rank #31,149, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lə]. 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 53956, this pair ranks #1,037,652 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of langweile vs langweilen
Shared letters: aegilnw. Private to "langweile": -. Private to "langweilen": -.
"langweile" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCV · "langweilen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- langweile ← alngweile · lagnweile · langewile · langgweile · langweiel · langweille · langwelie · langwiele
- langweilen ← alngweilen · lagnweilen · langewilen · langgweilen · langweieln · langweilenn · langweillen · langweilne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "langweile" and "langweilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "langweile" vs "langweilen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "langweile" 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 #1,037,652 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "langweile" and "langweilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "langweile vs langweilt". 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 #1,037,652 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.