vorübergehendvsvorübergehendeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,022
“vorübergehend” frequency rank
#21,842
“vorübergehende” frequency rank
27864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorübergehend vorübergehende
Definition nur kurze Zeit dauernd Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorübergehend

Where the eye mixes vorübergehend and vorübergehende

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. vorübergehend runs 13 letters (CVCVCVCCVCVCC) against vorübergehende's 14 (CVCVCVCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
vorübergehend
14 ch
vorübergehende

Why the eye confuses vorübergehend with vorübergehende

A purely visual mix-up. vorübergehend ([foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːənt]) and vorübergehende ([foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndə]) 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) - “vorübergehend” sits inside “vorübergehende”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorübergehend is recorded at frequency rank #6,022, classified as anadj, pronounced [foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːənt]. vorübergehende is at rank #21,842, tagged as anadj, pronounced [foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndə].

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 27864, this pair ranks #1,794,579 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorübergehend vs vorübergehende

Shared letters: bdeghnorvü. Private to "vorübergehend": -. Private to "vorübergehende": -.

"vorübergehend" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVCVCC  ·  "vorübergehende" · 14 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorübergehend" and "vorübergehende" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːənt] versus [foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorübergehend" or "vorübergehende"?
"vorübergehend" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,022 in our German list, against #21,842 for "vorübergehende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorübergehend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorübergehende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,794,579 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorübergehend" and "vorübergehende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorübergehende vs vorübergehenden". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,794,579 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