vorsichtigevsvorsichtigenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#39,710
“vorsichtige” frequency rank
#42,934
“vorsichtigen” frequency rank
82644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorsichtige vorsichtigen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs vorsichtig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorsichtig

Where the eye mixes vorsichtige and vorsichtigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. vorsichtige runs 11 letters (CVCCVCCCVCV) against vorsichtigen's 12 (CVCCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
vorsichtige
12 ch
vorsichtigen

Why the eye confuses vorsichtige with vorsichtigen

A purely visual mix-up. vorsichtige ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “vorsichtige” sits inside “vorsichtigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorsichtige is recorded at frequency rank #39,710, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡə]. 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 82644, this pair ranks #153,530 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vorsichtige vs vorsichtigen

Shared letters: ceghiorstv. Private to "vorsichtige": -. Private to "vorsichtigen": n.

"vorsichtige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCV  ·  "vorsichtigen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorsichtige ← ovrsichtige · vorischtige · vorrsichtige · vorscihtige · vorsicchtige · vorsichhtige · vorsichitge · vorsichtgie
  • vorsichtigen ← ovrsichtigen · vorischtigen · vorrsichtigen · vorscihtigen · vorsicchtigen · vorsichhtigen · vorsichitgen · vorsichtgien

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vorsichtige" and "vorsichtigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡə] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "vorsichtige" or "vorsichtigen" show up more?
"vorsichtige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,710 in our German list, against #42,934 for "vorsichtigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "vorsichtige" and "vorsichtigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorsichtige" 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 #153,530 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorsichtige" and "vorsichtigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorsichtigen vs vorsichtiger". 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 #153,530 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