nachfolgendvsNachfolgernConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#15,952
“nachfolgend” frequency rank
#34,822
“Nachfolgern” frequency rank
50774
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nachfolgend Nachfolgern
Definition unmittelbar anschließend; zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt geschehend Dativ Plural des Substantivs Nachfolger

Where the eye mixes nachfolgend and Nachfolgern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. nachfolgend and Nachfolgern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
nachfolgend
11 ch
Nachfolgern

Visual trap between nachfolgend and Nachfolgern

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nachfolgend is [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩t] while Nachfolgern is [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50774, 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]. 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 50774, this pair ranks #1,161,001 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nachfolgend vs Nachfolgern

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

"nachfolgend" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Nachfolgern" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nachfolgend ← anchfolgend · nacchfolgend · nacfholgend · nachffolgend · nachflogend · nachfoglend · nachfolegnd · nachfolgedn
  • Nachfolgern ← anchfolgern · nacchfolgern · nacfholgern · nachffolgern · nachflogern · nachfoglern · nachfolegrn · nachfolgenr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nachfolgend" and "Nachfolgern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nachfolgend" is an adjective and "Nachfolgern" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "nachfolgend" or "Nachfolgern" show up more?
"nachfolgend" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,952 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.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "nachfolgend" and "Nachfolgern" 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 "Nachfolgern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,161,001 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nachfolgend" 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 #1,161,001 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