nachfolgendvsNachfolgerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nachfolgend is a adjective, Nachfolger is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nachfolgend” is an adjective and “Nachfolger” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,952
“nachfolgend” frequency rank
#2,670
“Nachfolger” frequency rank
18622
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nachfolgend Nachfolger
Definition unmittelbar anschließend; zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt geschehend jemand, der künftig die Position einer bestimmten Person einnimmt

Where the eye mixes nachfolgend and Nachfolger

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. nachfolgend runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCCVCC) against Nachfolger's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
nachfolgend
10 ch
Nachfolger

Look-alike desk: nachfolgend vs Nachfolger

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nachfolgend is [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩t] while Nachfolger is [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18622, 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]. Nachfolger is at rank #2,670, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡɐ].

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 18622, this pair ranks #1,916,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nachfolgend vs Nachfolger

Shared letters: acefghlno. Private to "nachfolgend": d. Private to "Nachfolger": r.

"nachfolgend" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Nachfolger" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nachfolgend ← anchfolgend · nacchfolgend · nacfholgend · nachffolgend · nachflogend · nachfoglend · nachfolegnd · nachfolgedn
  • Nachfolger ← anchfolger · nacchfolger · nacfholger · nachffolger · nachfloger · nachfogler · nachfolegr · nachfolgerr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nachfolgend" for "Nachfolger" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nachfolgend" is an adjective and "Nachfolger" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "nachfolgend" or "Nachfolger" show up more?
"Nachfolger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,670 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.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "nachfolgend" and "Nachfolger" 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 "Nachfolger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,916,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nachfolgend" and "Nachfolger" 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 #1,916,494 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