lebenslangevslebenslangenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,353
“lebenslange” frequency rank
#29,216
“lebenslangen” frequency rank
46569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lebenslange lebenslangen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lebenslang Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lebenslang

Where the eye mixes lebenslange and lebenslangen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. lebenslange runs 11 letters (CVCVCCCVCCV) against lebenslangen's 12 (CVCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
lebenslange
12 ch
lebenslangen

Visual trap between lebenslange and lebenslangen

A purely visual mix-up. lebenslange ([ˈleːbn̩sˌlaŋə]) and lebenslangen ([ˈleːbn̩sˌlaŋən]) 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) - “lebenslange” sits inside “lebenslangen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lebenslange is recorded at frequency rank #17,353, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈleːbn̩sˌlaŋə]. lebenslangen is at rank #29,216, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈleːbn̩sˌlaŋən].

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 46569, this pair ranks #1,314,572 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lebenslange vs lebenslangen

Shared letters: abeglns. Private to "lebenslange": -. Private to "lebenslangen": -.

"lebenslange" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCV  ·  "lebenslangen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lebenslange ← elbenslange · lbeenslange · lebbenslange · lebenlsange · lebennslange · lebensalnge · lebenslagne · lebenslaneg
  • lebenslangen ← elbenslangen · lbeenslangen · lebbenslangen · lebenlsangen · lebennslangen · lebensalngen · lebenslagnen · lebenslanegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lebenslange" and "lebenslangen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːbn̩sˌlaŋə] versus [ˈleːbn̩sˌlaŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "lebenslange" or "lebenslangen" show up more?
"lebenslange" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,353 in our German list, against #29,216 for "lebenslangen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "lebenslange" and "lebenslangen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lebenslange" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lebenslangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,314,572 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lebenslange" and "lebenslangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lebenslangen vs lebenslanges". 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 #1,314,572 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