NachfolgevsNachfolgernConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,790
“Nachfolge” frequency rank
#34,822
“Nachfolgern” frequency rank
42612
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Nachfolge Nachfolgern
Definition die Übernahme einer Stellung, eines Amtes oder der Arbeit von einer Person, die diese Stellung/das Amt/die Arbeit vorher innehatte Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nachfolger

Where the eye mixes Nachfolge and Nachfolgern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Nachfolge runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCCV) against Nachfolgern's 11 (CVCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Nachfolge
11 ch
Nachfolgern

Visual trap between Nachfolge and Nachfolgern

A purely visual mix-up. Nachfolge ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡə]) and Nachfolgern ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡɐn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Nachfolge” sits inside “Nachfolgern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Nachfolge is recorded at frequency rank #7,790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡə]. Nachfolgern is at rank #34,822, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡɐn].

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 42612, this pair ranks #1,443,977 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Nachfolge vs Nachfolgern

Shared letters: acefghlno. Private to "Nachfolge": -. Private to "Nachfolgern": r.

"Nachfolge" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV  ·  "Nachfolgern" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Nachfolge ← anchfolge · nacchfolge · nacfholge · nachffolge · nachfloge · nachfogle · nachfoleg · nachfolgge
  • Nachfolgern ← anchfolgern · nacchfolgern · nacfholgern · nachffolgern · nachflogern · nachfoglern · nachfolegrn · nachfolgenr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Nachfolge" for "Nachfolgern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡə] versus [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Nachfolge" or "Nachfolgern"?
"Nachfolge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,790 in our German list, against #34,822 for "Nachfolgern". 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 "Nachfolge" and "Nachfolgern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Nachfolge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Nachfolgern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,443,977 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Nachfolge" and "Nachfolgern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Nachfolgern vs Nachfolgers". 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 #1,443,977 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