Which to use
“selbständig” and “selbständigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,170
- “selbständig” frequency rank
- #13,692
- “selbständigen” frequency rank
- 23862
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selbständig | selbständigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne Hilfe anderer oder Anleitung (auskommend) | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs selbständig |
Where the eye mixes selbständig and selbständigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. selbständig runs 11 letters (CVCCCCVCCVC) against selbständigen's 13 (CVCCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between selbständig and selbständigen
A purely visual mix-up. selbständig ([ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪç]) and selbständigen ([ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪɡn̩]) 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) - “selbständig” sits inside “selbständigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23862, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selbständig is recorded at frequency rank #10,170, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪç]. selbständigen is at rank #13,692, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪɡn̩].
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 23862, this pair ranks #1,855,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of selbständig vs selbständigen
Shared letters: bdegilnstä. Private to "selbständig": -. Private to "selbständigen": -.
"selbständig" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC · "selbständigen" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "selbständig" and "selbständigen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "selbständig" vs "selbständigen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "selbständig" and "selbständigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "selbständig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "selbständigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,855,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selbständig" and "selbständigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selbständigen vs selbständiger". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,855,614 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.