neugierigvsneugierigenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,287
“neugierig” frequency rank
#32,687
“neugierigen” frequency rank
37974
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neugierig neugierigen
Definition stark interessiert an etwas Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs neugierig

Where the eye mixes neugierig and neugierigen

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

9 ch
neugierig
11 ch
neugierigen

Why the eye confuses neugierig with neugierigen

A purely visual mix-up. neugierig ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪç]) and neugierigen ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪɡn̩]) 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) - “neugierig” sits inside “neugierigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neugierig is recorded at frequency rank #5,287, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪç]. neugierigen is at rank #32,687, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪɡn̩].

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 37974, this pair ranks #1,576,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of neugierig vs neugierigen

Shared letters: eginru. Private to "neugierig": -. Private to "neugierigen": -.

"neugierig" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVVCVC  ·  "neugierigen" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neugierig ← enugierig · neguierig · neugeirig · neuggierig · neugieirg · neugiergi · neugierigg · neugierrig
  • neugierigen ← enugierigen · neguierigen · neugeirigen · neuggierigen · neugieirgen · neugiergien · neugieriegn · neugierigenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neugierig" and "neugierigen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪç] versus [ˈnɔɪ̯ˌɡiːʁɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "neugierig" vs "neugierigen" - which ranks higher?
"neugierig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,287 in our German list, against #32,687 for "neugierigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "neugierig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "neugierigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,576,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "neugierig" and "neugierigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "neugierige vs neugierigen". 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 #1,576,176 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