Which to use
“bürgerlich” and “bürgerlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,245
- “bürgerlich” frequency rank
- #6,904
- “bürgerlichen” frequency rank
- 24149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bürgerlich | bürgerlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf die Staatsbürger oder die Bürger eines Gemeinwesens bezogen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bürgerlich |
Where the eye mixes bürgerlich and bürgerlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. bürgerlich runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCVCC) against bürgerlichen's 12 (CVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bürgerlich vs bürgerlichen
A purely visual mix-up. bürgerlich ([ˈbʏʁɡɐlɪç]) and bürgerlichen ([ˈbʏʁɡɐlɪçn̩]) 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) - “bürgerlich” sits inside “bürgerlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bürgerlich is recorded at frequency rank #17,245, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbʏʁɡɐlɪç]. bürgerlichen is at rank #6,904, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbʏʁɡɐlɪçn̩].
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 24149, this pair ranks #1,851,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bürgerlich vs bürgerlichen
Shared letters: bceghilrü. Private to "bürgerlich": -. Private to "bürgerlichen": n.
"bürgerlich" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "bürgerlichen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bürgerlich" and "bürgerlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bürgerlich" or "bürgerlichen"?
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 "bürgerlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bürgerlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,851,701 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bürgerlich" and "bürgerlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bürgerlich vs bürgerliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,851,701 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.