nachfolgendvsnachfolgendeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,952
“nachfolgend” frequency rank
#12,134
“nachfolgende” frequency rank
28086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nachfolgend nachfolgende
Definition unmittelbar anschließend; zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt geschehend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs nachfolgend

Where the eye mixes nachfolgend and nachfolgende

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

11 ch
nachfolgend
12 ch
nachfolgende

Look-alike desk: nachfolgend vs nachfolgende

A purely visual mix-up. nachfolgend ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩t]) and nachfolgende ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩də]) 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) - “nachfolgend” sits inside “nachfolgende”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nachfolgend is recorded at frequency rank #15,952, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩t]. nachfolgende is at rank #12,134, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩də].

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 28086, this pair ranks #1,790,790 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nachfolgend vs nachfolgende

Shared letters: acdefghlno. Private to "nachfolgend": -. Private to "nachfolgende": -.

"nachfolgend" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "nachfolgende" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nachfolgend ← anchfolgend · nacchfolgend · nacfholgend · nachffolgend · nachflogend · nachfoglend · nachfolegnd · nachfolgedn
  • nachfolgende ← anchfolgende · nacchfolgende · nacfholgende · nachffolgende · nachflogende · nachfoglende · nachfolegnde · nachfolgedne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nachfolgend" for "nachfolgende" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩t] versus [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩də]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nachfolgend" or "nachfolgende"?
"nachfolgende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,134 in our German list, against #15,952 for "nachfolgend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "nachfolgend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nachfolgende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,790,790 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nachfolgend" and "nachfolgende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachfolgend vs nachfolgender". 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 #1,790,790 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