vergangenenvsvergangenerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,831
“vergangenen” frequency rank
#20,108
“vergangener” frequency rank
21939
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vergangenen vergangener
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs vergangen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vergangen

Where the eye mixes vergangenen and vergangener

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vergangenen and vergangener follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
vergangenen
11 ch
vergangener

Look-alike desk: vergangenen vs vergangener

A purely visual mix-up. vergangenen ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənən]) and vergangener ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “vergangenen” becomes r in “vergangener”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vergangenen is recorded at frequency rank #1,831, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənən]. vergangener is at rank #20,108, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənɐ].

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 21939, this pair ranks #1,880,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vergangenen vs vergangener

Shared letters: aegnrv. Private to "vergangenen": -. Private to "vergangener": -.

"vergangenen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC  ·  "vergangener" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vergangenenevrgangenen · vegrangenen · veragngenen · vergagnenen · verganegnen · vergangeenn · vergangenenn · vergangenne
  • vergangenerevrgangener · vegrangener · veragngener · vergagnener · verganegner · vergangeenr · vergangenerr · vergangenner

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vergangenen" and "vergangener" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənən] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈɡaŋənɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vergangenen" vs "vergangener" - which ranks higher?
"vergangenen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,831 in our German list, against #20,108 for "vergangener". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vergangenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vergangener" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,880,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vergangenen" and "vergangener" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vergangener vs vergangenes". 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 #1,880,340 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