verantwortlichvsVerantwortlichenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: verantwortlich is a adjective, Verantwortlichen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verantwortlich” is an adjective and “Verantwortlichen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,438
“verantwortlich” frequency rank
#3,927
“Verantwortlichen” frequency rank
5365
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verantwortlich Verantwortlichen
Definition eine Verantwortung für etwas habend, für etwas zuständig seiend Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Verantwortlicher

Where the eye mixes verantwortlich and Verantwortlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 14 letters in sequence. verantwortlich runs 14 letters (CVCVCCCVCCCVCC) against Verantwortlichen's 16 (CVCVCCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

14 ch
verantwortlich
16 ch
Verantwortlichen

Visual trap between verantwortlich and Verantwortlichen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verantwortlich is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔantvɔʁtlɪç] while Verantwortlichen is [fɛɐ̯ˈʔantvɔʁtlɪçn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “verantwortlich” sits inside “Verantwortlichen”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verantwortlich is recorded at frequency rank #1,438, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔantvɔʁtlɪç]. Verantwortlichen is at rank #3,927, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʔantvɔʁtlɪçn̩].

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 5365, this pair ranks #1,994,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verantwortlich vs Verantwortlichen

Shared letters: acehilnortvw. Private to "verantwortlich": -. Private to "Verantwortlichen": -.

"verantwortlich" · 14 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCCVCC  ·  "Verantwortlichen" · 16 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verantwortlichevrantwortlich · vearntwortlich · veranntwortlich · verantowrtlich · veranttwortlich · verantworltich · verantworrtlich · verantwortilch
  • Verantwortlichenevrantwortlichen · vearntwortlichen · veranntwortlichen · verantowrtlichen · veranttwortlichen · verantworltichen · verantworrtlichen · verantwortilchen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verantwortlich" and "Verantwortlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verantwortlich" is an adjective and "Verantwortlichen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verantwortlich" or "Verantwortlichen"?
"verantwortlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,438 in our German list, against #3,927 for "Verantwortlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "verantwortlich" and "Verantwortlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verantwortlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Verantwortlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,994,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verantwortlich" and "Verantwortlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Verantwortlichen vs Verantwortlicher". 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 #1,994,982 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