Which to use
“selbständige” and “selbständigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,323
- “selbständige” frequency rank
- #13,692
- “selbständigen” frequency rank
- 25015
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selbständige | selbständigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs selbständig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs selbständig |
Where the eye mixes selbständige and selbständigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. selbständige runs 12 letters (CVCCCCVCCVCV) against selbständigen's 13 (CVCCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: selbständige vs selbständigen
A purely visual mix-up. selbständige ([ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪɡə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “selbständige” sits inside “selbständigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selbständige is recorded at frequency rank #11,323, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪɡə]. 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 25015, this pair ranks #1,839,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of selbständige vs selbständigen
Shared letters: bdegilnstä. Private to "selbständige": -. Private to "selbständigen": -.
"selbständige" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVCV · "selbständigen" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "selbständige" and "selbständigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "selbständige" or "selbständigen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "selbständige" 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 #1,839,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selbständige" and "selbständigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selbständigen vs selbständiger". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,839,349 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.