dämlichevsdämlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,307
“dämliche” frequency rank
#24,304
“dämlichen” frequency rank
46611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dämliche dämlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dämlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dämlich

Where the eye mixes dämliche and dämlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
dämliche
9 ch
dämlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dämliche ([ˈdɛːmlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “dämliche” sits inside “dämlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dämliche is recorded at frequency rank #22,307, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdɛːmlɪçə]. 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 46611, this pair ranks #1,313,167 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dämliche vs dämlichen

Shared letters: cdehilmä. Private to "dämliche": -. Private to "dämlichen": n.

"dämliche" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "dämlichen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dämliche" and "dämlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛːmlɪçə] versus [ˈdɛːmlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dämliche" or "dämlichen"?
"dämliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,307 in our German list, against #24,304 for "dämlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list