wenigenvswenigerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,217
“wenigen” frequency rank
#342
“weniger” frequency rank
1559
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wenigen weniger
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs wenig Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs wenig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wenigen and weniger apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
wenigen
7 ch
weniger

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. wenigen ([ˈveːnɪɡn̩]) and weniger ([ˈveːnɪɡɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “wenigen” becomes r in “weniger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wenigen is recorded at frequency rank #1,217, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈveːnɪɡn̩]. weniger is at rank #342, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈveːnɪɡɐ].

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 1559, this pair ranks #2,004,123 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wenigen vs weniger

Shared letters: eginw. Private to "wenigen": -. Private to "weniger": r.

"wenigen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "weniger" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wenigenewnigen · weingen · wengien · weniegn · wenigenn · weniggen · wenigne · wennigen
  • wenigerewniger · weinger · wengier · weniegr · wenigerr · wenigger · wenigre · wenniger

Frequency comparison

wenigen#1,217
weniger#342

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wenigen" and "weniger" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈveːnɪɡn̩] versus [ˈveːnɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wenigen" or "weniger"?
"weniger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #342 in our German list, against #1,217 for "wenigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wenigen vs weniger

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wenigen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list