Which to use
“dämlich” and “dämlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,456
- “dämlich” frequency rank
- #24,304
- “dämlichen” frequency rank
- 34760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dämlich | dämlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ausgesprochen dumm | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dämlich |
Where the eye mixes dämlich and dämlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. dämlich runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against dämlichen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dämlich with dämlichen
A purely visual mix-up. dämlich ([ˈdɛːmlɪç]) and dämlichen ([ˈdɛːmlɪçn̩]) 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) - “dämlich” sits inside “dämlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dämlich is recorded at frequency rank #10,456, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛːmlɪç]. dämlichen is at rank #24,304, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛːmlɪçn̩].
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 34760, this pair ranks #1,655,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dämlich vs dämlichen
Shared letters: cdhilmä. Private to "dämlich": -. Private to "dämlichen": en.
"dämlich" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "dämlichen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dämlich" for "dämlichen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dämlich" vs "dämlichen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dämlich" and "dämlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dämlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dämlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,655,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dämlich" and "dämlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dämlichen vs dämlicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,655,923 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.