Which to use
“vage” and “vagen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,720
- “vage” frequency rank
- #43,571
- “vagen” frequency rank
- 57291
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vage | vagen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schwer erkennbar oder vorstellbar, ungewiss | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs vage |
Where the eye mixes vage and vagen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vage runs 4 letters (CVCV) against vagen's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: vage vs vagen
A purely visual mix-up. vage ([ˈvaːɡə]) and vagen ([ˈvaːɡn̩]) 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) - “vage” sits inside “vagen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vage is recorded at frequency rank #13,720, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvaːɡə]. vagen is at rank #43,571, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvaːɡn̩].
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 57291, this pair ranks #907,001 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vage vs vagen
Shared letters: aegv. Private to "vage": -. Private to "vagen": n.
"vage" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vage" for "vagen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vage" or "vagen"?
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 "vage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #907,001 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vage" and "vagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vagen vs Varel". 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 #907,001 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.