zusammenfassenvszusammenfassendWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,063
“zusammenfassen” frequency rank
#25,413
“zusammenfassend” frequency rank
41476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zusammenfassen zusammenfassend
Definition das Wichtigste in Kurzform darstellen Partizip Präsens des Verbs zusammenfassen

Where the eye mixes zusammenfassen and zusammenfassend

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

14 ch
zusammenfassen
15 ch
zusammenfassend

Visual trap between zusammenfassen and zusammenfassend

A purely visual mix-up. zusammenfassen ([t͡suˈzamənˌfasn̩]) and zusammenfassend ([t͡suˈzamənˌfasn̩t]) 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) - “zusammenfassen” sits inside “zusammenfassend”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zusammenfassen is recorded at frequency rank #16,063, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡suˈzamənˌfasn̩]. zusammenfassend is at rank #25,413, tagged as averb, pronounced [t͡suˈzamənˌfasn̩t].

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 41476, this pair ranks #1,478,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zusammenfassen vs zusammenfassend

Shared letters: aefmnsuz. Private to "zusammenfassen": -. Private to "zusammenfassend": d.

"zusammenfassen" · 14 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "zusammenfassend" · 15 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zusammenfassen ← uzsammenfassen · zsuammenfassen · zuasmmenfassen · zusamemnfassen · zusamenfassen · zusammefnassen · zusammenafssen · zusammenfasen
  • zusammenfassend ← uzsammenfassend · zsuammenfassend · zuasmmenfassend · zusamemnfassend · zusamenfassend · zusammefnassend · zusammenafssend · zusammenfasend

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zusammenfassen" and "zusammenfassend" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t͡suˈzamənˌfasn̩] versus [t͡suˈzamənˌfasn̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "zusammenfassen" vs "zusammenfassend" - which ranks higher?
"zusammenfassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,063 in our German list, against #25,413 for "zusammenfassend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zusammenfassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zusammenfassend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,478,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zusammenfassen" and "zusammenfassend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zusammenfassend vs zusammenpassen". 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 #1,478,245 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