TeilnahmenvsTeilnehmerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,731
“Teilnahmen” frequency rank
#1,307
“Teilnehmer” frequency rank
21038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teilnahmen Teilnehmer
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Teilnahme Person oder Gruppe, die an einem Ereignis oder einer Veranstaltung beteiligt ist

Where the eye mixes Teilnahmen and Teilnehmer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

10 ch
Teilnahmen
10 ch
Teilnehmer

Visual trap between Teilnahmen and Teilnehmer

A purely visual mix-up. Teilnahmen ([ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmən]) and Teilnehmer ([ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːmɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teilnahmen is recorded at frequency rank #19,731, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmən]. Teilnehmer is at rank #1,307, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːmɐ].

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 21038, this pair ranks #1,890,872 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Teilnahmen vs Teilnehmer

Shared letters: ehilmnt. Private to "Teilnahmen": a. Private to "Teilnehmer": r.

"Teilnahmen" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC  ·  "Teilnehmer" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teilnahmenetilnahmen · teilanhmen · teillnahmen · teilnahemn · teilnahhmen · teilnahmenn · teilnahmmen · teilnahmne
  • Teilnehmeretilnehmer · teilenhmer · teillnehmer · teilnehemr · teilnehhmer · teilnehmerr · teilnehmmer · teilnehmre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Teilnahmen" and "Teilnehmer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmən] versus [ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːmɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Teilnahmen" vs "Teilnehmer" - which ranks higher?
"Teilnehmer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,307 in our German list, against #19,731 for "Teilnahmen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teilnahmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Teilnehmer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,890,872 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teilnahmen" and "Teilnehmer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teilnahm vs Teilnahmen". 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 #1,890,872 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