durchschnittlichvsdurchschnittlicheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,260
“durchschnittlich” frequency rank
#4,974
“durchschnittliche” frequency rank
9234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature durchschnittlich durchschnittliche
Definition im Mittel; dem Durchschnitt entsprechend, diesen repräsentierend, in der Art und Weise des Durchschnitts Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs durchschnittlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set durchschnittlich and durchschnittliche apart are highlighted. They share 16 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

16 ch
durchschnittlich
17 ch
durchschnittliche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. durchschnittlich ([ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪç]) and durchschnittliche ([ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪçə]) 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) - “durchschnittlich” sits inside “durchschnittliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

durchschnittlich is recorded at frequency rank #4,260, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪç]. durchschnittliche is at rank #4,974, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪçə].

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 9234, this pair ranks #1,980,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of durchschnittlich vs durchschnittliche

Shared letters: cdhilnrstu. Private to "durchschnittlich": -. Private to "durchschnittliche": e.

"durchschnittlich" · 16 letters · shape CVCCCCCCCVCCCVCC  ·  "durchschnittliche" · 17 letters · shape CVCCCCCCCVCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • durchschnittlichddurchschnittlich · druchschnittlich · ducrhschnittlich · durcchschnittlich · durchcshnittlich · durchhschnittlich · durchscchnittlich · durchschhnittlich
  • durchschnittlicheddurchschnittliche · druchschnittliche · ducrhschnittliche · durcchschnittliche · durchcshnittliche · durchhschnittliche · durchscchnittliche · durchschhnittliche

Frequency comparison

durchschnittlich#4,260
durchschnittliche#4,974

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "durchschnittlich" and "durchschnittliche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪç] versus [ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "durchschnittlich" or "durchschnittliche"?
"durchschnittlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,260 in our German list, against #4,974 for "durchschnittliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering durchschnittlich vs durchschnittliche

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list