teilnehmenvsTeilnehmerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: teilnehmen is a verb, Teilnehmer is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#3,853
“teilnehmen” frequency rank
#1,307
“Teilnehmer” frequency rank
5160
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teilnehmen Teilnehmer
Definition dabei sein, beiwohnen Person oder Gruppe, die an einem Ereignis oder einer Veranstaltung beteiligt ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set teilnehmen and Teilnehmer apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
teilnehmen
10 ch
Teilnehmer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

teilnehmen and Teilnehmer form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - n in “teilnehmen” becomes r in “Teilnehmer” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5160, 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]. 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 5160, this pair ranks #1,995,622 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

teilnehmen#3,853
Teilnehmer#1,307

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teilnehmen" and "Teilnehmer" be used interchangeably?
No, "teilnehmen" and "Teilnehmer" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering teilnehmen vs Teilnehmer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “teilnehmen”; for a noun, it's “Teilnehmer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “teilnehmen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list