modernenvsmodernerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,118
“modernen” frequency rank
#6,331
“moderner” frequency rank
8449
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modernen moderner
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs modern Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs modern

Where the eye mixes modernen and moderner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. modernen and moderner follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
modernen
8 ch
moderner

Why the eye confuses modernen with moderner

A purely visual mix-up. modernen ([moˈdɛʁnən]) and moderner ([moˈdɛʁnɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “modernen” becomes r in “moderner”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

modernen is recorded at frequency rank #2,118, classified as anadj, pronounced [moˈdɛʁnən]. moderner is at rank #6,331, tagged as anadj, pronounced [moˈdɛʁnɐ].

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 8449, this pair ranks #1,984,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of modernen vs moderner

Shared letters: demnor. Private to "modernen": -. Private to "moderner": -.

"modernen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "moderner" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modernen ← mdoernen · mmodernen · moddernen · modenren · moderenn · modernenn · modernnen · moderrnen
  • moderner ← mdoerner · mmoderner · modderner · modenrer · moderenr · modernerr · modernner · modernre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "modernen" and "moderner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([moˈdɛʁnən] versus [moˈdɛʁnɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "modernen" or "moderner" show up more?
"modernen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,118 in our German list, against #6,331 for "moderner". 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 "modernen" and "moderner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "modernen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "moderner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,984,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "modernen" and "moderner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moderner vs modernere". 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 #1,984,220 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