BasilikavsBasilikumWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,847
“Basilika” frequency rank
#31,450
“Basilikum” frequency rank
55297
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Basilika Basilikum
Definition ein öffentliches, langgestrecktes Hallengebäude mit überhöhtem, mit Fenstern versehenem Mittelschiff und an den Langseiten befindlichen durch Pfeiler oder Säulen getrennten Seitenschiffen als Würzpflanze, Küchenkraut, Heilpflanze genutzte Pflanze aus der Familie der Lippenblütler

Where the eye mixes Basilika and Basilikum

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Basilika runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against Basilikum's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Basilika
9 ch
Basilikum

Look-alike desk: Basilika vs Basilikum

A purely visual mix-up. Basilika ([baˈziːlika]) and Basilikum ([baˈziːlikʊm]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55297, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Basilika is recorded at frequency rank #23,847, classified as anoun, pronounced [baˈziːlika]. Basilikum is at rank #31,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced [baˈziːlikʊm].

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 55297, this pair ranks #985,077 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Basilika vs Basilikum

Shared letters: abikls. Private to "Basilika": -. Private to "Basilikum": mu.

"Basilika" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "Basilikum" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Basilika ← absilika · baislika · basiilka · basiliak · basilikka · basilkia · basillika · basliika
  • Basilikum ← absilikum · baislikum · basiilkum · basilikkum · basilikmu · basilikumm · basiliukm · basilkium

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Basilika" for "Basilikum" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([baˈziːlika] versus [baˈziːlikʊm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Basilika" or "Basilikum" show up more?
"Basilika" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,847 in our German list, against #31,450 for "Basilikum". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Basilika" and "Basilikum" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Basilika" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Basilikum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #985,077 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #985,077 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