sogenanntevssogenanntesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,125
“sogenannte” frequency rank
#18,067
“sogenanntes” frequency rank
20192
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sogenannte sogenanntes
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs sogenannt Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sogenannt

Where the eye mixes sogenannte and sogenanntes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. sogenannte runs 10 letters (CVCVCVCCCV) against sogenanntes's 11 (CVCVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
sogenannte
11 ch
sogenanntes

Why the eye confuses sogenannte with sogenanntes

A purely visual mix-up. sogenannte ([ˈzoːɡəˌnantə]) and sogenanntes ([ˈzoːɡəˌnantəs]) 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) - “sogenannte” sits inside “sogenanntes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sogenannte is recorded at frequency rank #2,125, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzoːɡəˌnantə]. sogenanntes is at rank #18,067, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzoːɡəˌnantəs].

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 20192, this pair ranks #1,900,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sogenannte vs sogenanntes

Shared letters: aegnost. Private to "sogenannte": -. Private to "sogenanntes": -.

"sogenannte" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCCV  ·  "sogenanntes" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sogenannteosgenannte · sgoenannte · soegnannte · sogeannnte · sogenannet · sogenanntte · sogenante · sogenantne
  • sogenanntesosgenanntes · sgoenanntes · soegnanntes · sogeannntes · sogenannets · sogenanntess · sogenanntse · sogenannttes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sogenannte" for "sogenanntes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzoːɡəˌnantə] versus [ˈzoːɡəˌnantəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sogenannte" or "sogenanntes"?
"sogenannte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,125 in our German list, against #18,067 for "sogenanntes". 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 "sogenannte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sogenanntes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,900,317 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sogenannte" and "sogenanntes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sogenannter vs sogenanntes". 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 #1,900,317 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