langweilenvslangweiligWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,807
“langweilen” frequency rank
#3,133
“langweilig” frequency rank
25940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature langweilen langweilig
Definition jemanden/sich selbst so behandeln, dass sich bei ihm ein Gefühl der Untätigkeit, der Eintönigkeit einstellt eintönig, uninteressant

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set langweilen and langweilig apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
langweilen
10 ch
langweilig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: langweilen is [ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lən] while langweilig is [ˈlaŋvaɪ̯lɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

langweilen is recorded at frequency rank #22,807, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaŋˌvaɪ̯lən]. langweilig is at rank #3,133, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaŋvaɪ̯lɪç].

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 25940, this pair ranks #1,825,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of langweilen vs langweilig

Shared letters: aegilnw. Private to "langweilen": -. Private to "langweilig": -.

"langweilen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC  ·  "langweilig" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • langweilenalngweilen · lagnweilen · langewilen · langgweilen · langweieln · langweilenn · langweillen · langweilne
  • langweiligalngweilig · lagnweilig · langewilig · langgweilig · langweiilg · langweilgi · langweiligg · langweillig

Frequency comparison

langweilen#22,807
langweilig#3,133

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "langweilen" and "langweilig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "langweilen" is a verb and "langweilig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "langweilen" or "langweilig"?
"langweilig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,133 in our German list, against #22,807 for "langweilen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering langweilen vs langweilig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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