vorkommenvsvorkommendeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vorkommen is a verb, vorkommende is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vorkommen” is a verb and “vorkommende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,626
“vorkommen” frequency rank
#30,376
“vorkommende” frequency rank
34002
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorkommen vorkommende
Definition sich nach vorn bewegen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorkommend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vorkommen and vorkommende apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
vorkommen
11 ch
vorkommende

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vorkommen is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən] while vorkommende is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔməndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “vorkommen” sits inside “vorkommende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorkommen is recorded at frequency rank #3,626, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]. vorkommende is at rank #30,376, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔməndə].

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 34002, this pair ranks #1,673,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorkommen vs vorkommende

Shared letters: ekmnorv. Private to "vorkommen": -. Private to "vorkommende": d.

"vorkommen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "vorkommende" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorkommenovrkommen · vokrommen · vorkkommen · vorkmomen · vorkomemn · vorkomen · vorkommenn · vorkommne
  • vorkommendeovrkommende · vokrommende · vorkkommende · vorkmomende · vorkomemnde · vorkomende · vorkommedne · vorkommendde

Frequency comparison

vorkommen#3,626
vorkommende#30,376

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorkommen" and "vorkommende" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vorkommen" is a verb and "vorkommende" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vorkommen" or "vorkommende"?
"vorkommen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,626 in our German list, against #30,376 for "vorkommende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vorkommen vs vorkommende

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vorkommen”; for an adjective, it's “vorkommende”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vorkommen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list