vorsichtigvsvorsichtigenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,008
“vorsichtig” frequency rank
#42,934
“vorsichtigen” frequency rank
45942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorsichtig vorsichtigen
Definition Vorsicht zeigend, Achtung gebend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorsichtig

Where the eye mixes vorsichtig and vorsichtigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vorsichtig runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCCVC) against vorsichtigen's 12 (CVCCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vorsichtig
12 ch
vorsichtigen

Why the eye confuses vorsichtig with vorsichtigen

A purely visual mix-up. vorsichtig ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪç]) and vorsichtigen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡn̩]) 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) - “vorsichtig” sits inside “vorsichtigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorsichtig is recorded at frequency rank #3,008, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪç]. vorsichtigen is at rank #42,934, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡn̩].

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 45942, this pair ranks #1,335,933 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorsichtig vs vorsichtigen

Shared letters: cghiorstv. Private to "vorsichtig": -. Private to "vorsichtigen": en.

"vorsichtig" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC  ·  "vorsichtigen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorsichtig ← ovrsichtig · vorischtig · vorrsichtig · vorscihtig · vorsicchtig · vorsichhtig · vorsichitg · vorsichtgi
  • vorsichtigen ← ovrsichtigen · vorischtigen · vorrsichtigen · vorscihtigen · vorsicchtigen · vorsichhtigen · vorsichitgen · vorsichtgien

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vorsichtig" and "vorsichtigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪç] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorsichtig" or "vorsichtigen"?
"vorsichtig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,008 in our German list, against #42,934 for "vorsichtigen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorsichtig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorsichtigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,335,933 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorsichtig" and "vorsichtigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorsichtige vs vorsichtigen". 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 #1,335,933 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