vergangenvsvergangenesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,001
“vergangen” frequency rank
#26,665
“vergangenes” frequency rank
34666
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergangen vergangenes
Definition nicht mehr aktuell; in der Vergangenheit liegend Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vergangen

Where the eye mixes vergangen and vergangenes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. vergangen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against vergangenes's 11 (CVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
vergangen
11 ch
vergangenes

Visual trap between vergangen and vergangenes

A purely visual mix-up. vergangen ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən]) and vergangenes ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “vergangen” sits inside “vergangenes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34666, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergangen is recorded at frequency rank #8,001, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən]. vergangenes is at rank #26,665, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənəs].

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 34666, this pair ranks #1,658,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vergangen vs vergangenes

Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "vergangen": -. Private to "vergangenes": s.

"vergangen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vergangenes" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergangen ← evrgangen · vegrangen · veragngen · vergagnen · verganegn · vergangenn · verganggen · vergangne
  • vergangenes ← evrgangenes · vegrangenes · veragngenes · vergagnenes · verganegnes · vergangeens · vergangeness · vergangennes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vergangen" for "vergangenes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vergangen" or "vergangenes"?
"vergangen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,001 in our German list, against #26,665 for "vergangenes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "vergangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vergangenes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,658,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergangen" and "vergangenes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs vergangen". 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 #1,658,085 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