ähnlichemvsähnlichesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,066
“ähnlichem” frequency rank
#4,243
“ähnliches” frequency rank
20309
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ähnlichem ähnliches
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ähnlich Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs ähnlich

Where the eye mixes ähnlichem and ähnliches

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ähnlichem and ähnliches follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
ähnlichem
9 ch
ähnliches

Visual trap between ähnlichem and ähnliches

A purely visual mix-up. ähnlichem ([ˈɛːnlɪçm̩]) and ähnliches ([ˈɛːnlɪçəs]) 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 - m in “ähnlichem” becomes s in “ähnliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ähnlichem is recorded at frequency rank #16,066, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛːnlɪçm̩]. ähnliches is at rank #4,243, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛːnlɪçəs].

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 20309, this pair ranks #1,899,110 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ähnlichem vs ähnliches

Shared letters: cehilnä. Private to "ähnlichem": m. Private to "ähnliches": s.

"ähnlichem" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "ähnliches" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ähnlichem" for "ähnliches" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛːnlɪçm̩] versus [ˈɛːnlɪçəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ähnlichem" vs "ähnliches" - which ranks higher?
"ähnliches" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,243 in our German list, against #16,066 for "ähnlichem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ähnlichem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ähnliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,899,110 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ähnlichem" and "ähnliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ähnlichem vs ähnlicher". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,899,110 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