durchschnittlichvsdurchschnittlichenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,260
“durchschnittlich” frequency rank
#8,544
“durchschnittlichen” frequency rank
12804
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature durchschnittlich durchschnittlichen
Definition im Mittel; dem Durchschnitt entsprechend, diesen repräsentierend, in der Art und Weise des Durchschnitts Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs durchschnittlich

Where the eye mixes durchschnittlich and durchschnittlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 16 letters in sequence. durchschnittlich runs 16 letters (CVCCCCCCCVCCCVCC) against durchschnittlichen's 18 (CVCCCCCCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

16 ch
durchschnittlich
18 ch
durchschnittlichen

Why the eye confuses durchschnittlich with durchschnittlichen

A purely visual mix-up. durchschnittlich ([ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪç]) and durchschnittlichen ([ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪçn̩]) 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) - “durchschnittlich” sits inside “durchschnittlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12804, 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]. durchschnittlichen is at rank #8,544, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪçn̩].

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 12804, this pair ranks #1,961,958 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of durchschnittlich vs durchschnittlichen

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

"durchschnittlich" · 16 letters · shape CVCCCCCCCVCCCVCC  ·  "durchschnittlichen" · 18 letters · shape CVCCCCCCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • durchschnittlich ← ddurchschnittlich · druchschnittlich · ducrhschnittlich · durcchschnittlich · durchcshnittlich · durchhschnittlich · durchscchnittlich · durchschhnittlich
  • durchschnittlichen ← ddurchschnittlichen · druchschnittlichen · ducrhschnittlichen · durcchschnittlichen · durchcshnittlichen · durchhschnittlichen · durchscchnittlichen · durchschhnittlichen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "durchschnittlich" and "durchschnittlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪç] versus [ˈdʊʁçˌʃnɪtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "durchschnittlich" vs "durchschnittlichen" - which ranks higher?
"durchschnittlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,260 in our German list, against #8,544 for "durchschnittlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "durchschnittlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "durchschnittlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,961,958 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "durchschnittlich" and "durchschnittlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "durchschnittlichen vs durchschnittliches". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,961,958 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list