vernachlässigenvsvernachlässigtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,174
“vernachlässigen” frequency rank
#11,558
“vernachlässigt” frequency rank
28732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vernachlässigen vernachlässigt
Definition sich nicht ausreichend um jemanden oder etwas kümmern Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vernachlässigen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vernachlässigen and vernachlässigt apart are highlighted. They share 13 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

15 ch
vernachlässigen
14 ch
vernachlässigt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vernachlässigen ([fɛɐ̯ˈnaːxlɛsɪɡn̩]) and vernachlässigt ([fɛɐ̯ˈnaːxlɛsɪçt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vernachlässigen is recorded at frequency rank #17,174, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈnaːxlɛsɪɡn̩]. vernachlässigt is at rank #11,558, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈnaːxlɛsɪçt].

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 28732, this pair ranks #1,779,579 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vernachlässigen vs vernachlässigt

Shared letters: aceghilnrsvä. Private to "vernachlässigen": -. Private to "vernachlässigt": t.

"vernachlässigen" · 15 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCCVCVC  ·  "vernachlässigt" · 14 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

vernachlässigen#17,174
vernachlässigt#11,558

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vernachlässigen" and "vernachlässigt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈnaːxlɛsɪɡn̩] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈnaːxlɛsɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vernachlässigen" or "vernachlässigt"?
"vernachlässigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,558 in our German list, against #17,174 for "vernachlässigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vernachlässigen vs vernachlässigt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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