billigenvsbilligerenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: billigen is a verb, billigeren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“billigen” is a verb and “billigeren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,338
“billigen” frequency rank
#47,269
“billigeren” frequency rank
56607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature billigen billigeren
Definition etwas befürworten, begrüßen, gutheißen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs billig

Where the eye mixes billigen and billigeren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. billigen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against billigeren's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
billigen
10 ch
billigeren

Why the eye confuses billigen with billigeren

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: billigen is [ˈbɪlɪɡn̩] while billigeren is [ˈbɪlɪɡəʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

billigen is recorded at frequency rank #9,338, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪɡn̩]. billigeren is at rank #47,269, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪɡəʁən].

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 56607, this pair ranks #933,780 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of billigen vs billigeren

Shared letters: begiln. Private to "billigen": -. Private to "billigeren": r.

"billigen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "billigeren" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • billigenbbilligen · biligen · bililgen · billgien · billiegn · billigenn · billiggen · billigne
  • billigerenbbilligeren · biligeren · bililgeren · billgieren · billiegren · billigeern · billigerenn · billigerne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "billigen" for "billigeren" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "billigen" is a verb and "billigeren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "billigen" or "billigeren"?
"billigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,338 in our German list, against #47,269 for "billigeren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "billigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "billigeren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #933,780 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "billigen" and "billigeren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "billigere vs billigeren". 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 #933,780 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