billigvsbilligemConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,251
“billig” frequency rank
#48,007
“billigem” frequency rank
52258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature billig billigem
Definition angemessen (recht und billig) Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs billig

Where the eye mixes billig and billigem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. billig runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against billigem's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
billig
8 ch
billigem

Look-alike desk: billig vs billigem

A purely visual mix-up. billig ([ˈbɪlɪç]) and billigem ([ˈbɪlɪɡəm]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “billig” sits inside “billigem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

billig is recorded at frequency rank #4,251, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪç]. billigem is at rank #48,007, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪɡəm].

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 52258, this pair ranks #1,103,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of billig vs billigem

Shared letters: bgil. Private to "billig": -. Private to "billigem": em.

"billig" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "billigem" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • billig ← bbillig · bilig · bililg · billgi · billigg · blilig · ibllig
  • billigem ← bbilligem · biligem · bililgem · billgiem · billiegm · billigemm · billiggem · billigme

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "billig" and "billigem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪlɪç] versus [ˈbɪlɪɡəm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "billig" vs "billigem" - which ranks higher?
"billig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,251 in our German list, against #48,007 for "billigem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "billig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "billigem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,103,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "billig" and "billigem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "billigem vs billigte". 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 #1,103,860 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