Which to use
“ähnlich” and “amtlich” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,049
- “ähnlich” frequency rank
- #16,900
- “amtlich” frequency rank
- 17949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ähnlich | amtlich |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in manchem übereinstimmend, teilweise analog | sich auf ein Amt, einen Amtsvorgang beziehend |
Where the eye mixes ähnlich and amtlich
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ähnlich and amtlich follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: ähnlich vs amtlich
A purely visual mix-up. ähnlich ([ˈɛːnlɪç]) and amtlich ([ˈamtlɪç]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ähnlich is recorded at frequency rank #1,049, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛːnlɪç]. amtlich is at rank #16,900, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈamtlɪç].
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 17949, this pair ranks #1,922,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ähnlich vs amtlich
Shared letters: chil. Private to "ähnlich": nä. Private to "amtlich": amt.
"ähnlich" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC · "amtlich" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- amtlich ← amltich · ammtlich · amtilch · amtlcih · amtlicch · amtlichh · amtlihc · amtllich
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ähnlich" and "amtlich" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ähnlich" or "amtlich" show up more?
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 "ähnlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amtlich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,922,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ähnlich" and "amtlich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amtlich vs amtlicher". 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 #1,922,793 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.