Which to use
“wenig” is a pronoun and “wenigen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #305
- “wenig” frequency rank
- #1,217
- “wenigen” frequency rank
- 1522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wenig | wenigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine unbestimmte, kleine Anzahl oder Menge von etwas | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs wenig |
Where the eye mixes wenig and wenigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wenig is [ˈveːnɪç] while wenigen is [ˈveːnɪɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “wenig” sits inside “wenigen”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wenig is recorded at frequency rank #305, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈveːnɪç]. wenigen is at rank #1,217, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈveːnɪɡn̩].
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 1522, this pair ranks #2,004,183 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wenig vs wenigen
Shared letters: eginw. Private to "wenig": -. Private to "wenigen": -.
"wenig" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "wenigen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wenig" and "wenigen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wenig" or "wenigen"?
What to do next
You've compared "wenig" and "wenigen". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "wenig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wenigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,004,183 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wenig" and "wenigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wenig vs went". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.