Which to use
“Bürgermeister” and “Bürgermeisterin” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,587
- “Bürgermeister” frequency rank
- #16,660
- “Bürgermeisterin” frequency rank
- 18247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bürgermeister | Bürgermeisterin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Oberhaupt einer Stadt, Gemeinde oder anderen Kommune | weibliches Oberhaupt einer Stadt, Gemeinde oder anderen Kommune |
Where the eye mixes Bürgermeister and Bürgermeisterin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. Bürgermeister runs 13 letters (CVCCVCCVVCCVC) against Bürgermeisterin's 15 (CVCCVCCVVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Bürgermeister with Bürgermeisterin
A purely visual mix-up. Bürgermeister ([ˈbʏʁɡɐˌmaɪ̯stɐ]) and Bürgermeisterin ([ˈbʏʁɡɐˌmaɪ̯stəʁɪn]) 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) - “Bürgermeister” sits inside “Bürgermeisterin”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Bürgermeister is recorded at frequency rank #1,587, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʏʁɡɐˌmaɪ̯stɐ]. Bürgermeisterin is at rank #16,660, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʏʁɡɐˌmaɪ̯stəʁɪn].
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 18247, this pair ranks #1,920,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Bürgermeister vs Bürgermeisterin
Shared letters: begimrstü. Private to "Bürgermeister": -. Private to "Bürgermeisterin": n.
"Bürgermeister" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCCVC · "Bürgermeisterin" · 15 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Bürgermeister" for "Bürgermeisterin" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Bürgermeister" or "Bürgermeisterin" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Bürgermeister" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bürgermeisterin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,920,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Bürgermeister" and "Bürgermeisterin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bürgermeisterin vs Bürgermeisters". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,920,054 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.