vorübergehendevsvorübergehendenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,842
“vorübergehende” frequency rank
#28,930
“vorübergehenden” frequency rank
50772
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorübergehende vorübergehenden
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorübergehend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorübergehend

Where the eye mixes vorübergehende and vorübergehenden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 14 letters in sequence. vorübergehende runs 14 letters (CVCVCVCCVCVCCV) against vorübergehenden's 15 (CVCVCVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

14 ch
vorübergehende
15 ch
vorübergehenden

Why the eye confuses vorübergehende with vorübergehenden

A purely visual mix-up. vorübergehende ([foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndə]) and vorübergehenden ([foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndn̩]) 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) - “vorübergehende” sits inside “vorübergehenden”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorübergehende is recorded at frequency rank #21,842, classified as anadj, pronounced [foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndə]. vorübergehenden is at rank #28,930, tagged as anadj, pronounced [foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndn̩].

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 50772, this pair ranks #1,161,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorübergehende vs vorübergehenden

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

"vorübergehende" · 14 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVCVCCV  ·  "vorübergehenden" · 15 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vorübergehende" and "vorübergehenden" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndə] versus [foˈʁyːbɐˌɡeːəndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "vorübergehende" or "vorübergehenden" show up more?
"vorübergehende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,842 in our German list, against #28,930 for "vorübergehenden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorübergehende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorübergehenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,161,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorübergehende" and "vorübergehenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorhergehenden vs vorübergehenden". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,161,079 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