chemischevschemischerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,024
“chemische” frequency rank
#25,944
“chemischer” frequency rank
32968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chemische chemischer
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs chemisch Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs chemisch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chemische and chemischer apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
chemische
10 ch
chemischer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chemische ([ˈçeːmɪʃə]) and chemischer ([çeːmiʃɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “chemische” sits inside “chemischer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chemische is recorded at frequency rank #7,024, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈçeːmɪʃə]. chemischer is at rank #25,944, tagged as anadj, pronounced [çeːmiʃɐ].

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 32968, this pair ranks #1,696,190 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of chemische vs chemischer

Shared letters: cehims. Private to "chemische": -. Private to "chemischer": r.

"chemische" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCCV  ·  "chemischer" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chemischecchemische · cehmische · cheimsche · chemicshe · chemiscche · chemisceh · chemischhe · chemishce
  • chemischercchemischer · cehmischer · cheimscher · chemicsher · chemisccher · chemiscehr · chemischerr · chemischher

Frequency comparison

chemische#7,024
chemischer#25,944

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chemische" and "chemischer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈçeːmɪʃə] versus [çeːmiʃɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chemische" or "chemischer"?
"chemische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,024 in our German list, against #25,944 for "chemischer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chemische vs chemischer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chemische” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list