nachfolgendevsnachfolgendenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,134
“nachfolgende” frequency rank
#7,368
“nachfolgenden” frequency rank
19502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nachfolgende nachfolgenden
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs nachfolgend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs nachfolgend

Where the eye mixes nachfolgende and nachfolgenden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. nachfolgende runs 12 letters (CVCCCVCCVCCV) against nachfolgenden's 13 (CVCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
nachfolgende
13 ch
nachfolgenden

Why the eye confuses nachfolgende with nachfolgenden

A purely visual mix-up. nachfolgende ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩də]) and nachfolgenden ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩dən]) 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) - “nachfolgende” sits inside “nachfolgenden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nachfolgende is recorded at frequency rank #12,134, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩də]. nachfolgenden is at rank #7,368, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩dən].

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 19502, this pair ranks #1,907,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nachfolgende vs nachfolgenden

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

"nachfolgende" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCV  ·  "nachfolgenden" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nachfolgende ← anchfolgende · nacchfolgende · nacfholgende · nachffolgende · nachflogende · nachfoglende · nachfolegnde · nachfolgedne
  • nachfolgenden ← anchfolgenden · nacchfolgenden · nacfholgenden · nachffolgenden · nachflogenden · nachfoglenden · nachfolegnden · nachfolgednen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nachfolgende" and "nachfolgenden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩də] versus [ˈnaːxˌfɔlɡn̩dən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nachfolgende" vs "nachfolgenden" - which ranks higher?
"nachfolgenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,368 in our German list, against #12,134 for "nachfolgende". 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 "nachfolgende" and "nachfolgenden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nachfolgende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nachfolgenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,907,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nachfolgende" and "nachfolgenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachfolgende 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 #1,907,669 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