teilnehmenvsteilnehmendeConfusable pair

Quick tell: teilnehmen is a verb, teilnehmende is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“teilnehmen” is a verb and “teilnehmende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,853
“teilnehmen” frequency rank
#33,852
“teilnehmende” frequency rank
37705
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teilnehmen teilnehmende
Definition dabei sein, beiwohnen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs teilnehmend

Where the eye mixes teilnehmen and teilnehmende

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

10 ch
teilnehmen
12 ch
teilnehmende

Visual trap between teilnehmen and teilnehmende

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: teilnehmen is [ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːmən] while teilnehmende is [ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːməndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “teilnehmen” sits inside “teilnehmende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teilnehmen is recorded at frequency rank #3,853, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːmən]. teilnehmende is at rank #33,852, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lˌneːməndə].

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 37705, this pair ranks #1,583,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of teilnehmen vs teilnehmende

Shared letters: ehilmnt. Private to "teilnehmen": -. Private to "teilnehmende": d.

"teilnehmen" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC  ·  "teilnehmende" · 12 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teilnehmenetilnehmen · teilenhmen · teillnehmen · teilnehemn · teilnehhmen · teilnehmenn · teilnehmmen · teilnehmne
  • teilnehmendeetilnehmende · teilenhmende · teillnehmende · teilnehemnde · teilnehhmende · teilnehmedne · teilnehmendde · teilnehmened

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "teilnehmen" and "teilnehmende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "teilnehmen" is a verb and "teilnehmende" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "teilnehmen" vs "teilnehmende" - which ranks higher?
"teilnehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,853 in our German list, against #33,852 for "teilnehmende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "teilnehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "teilnehmende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,583,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "teilnehmen" and "teilnehmende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teilnehmende vs teilnehmenden". 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 #1,583,219 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