Which to use
“eigentlich” is an adverb and “eigentliche” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #242
- “eigentlich” frequency rank
- #3,514
- “eigentliche” frequency rank
- 3756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eigentlich | eigentliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Prinzip | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigentlich |
Where the eye mixes eigentlich and eigentliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between eigentlich and eigentliche
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eigentlich is [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪç] while eigentliche is [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “eigentlich” sits inside “eigentliche”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eigentlich is recorded at frequency rank #242, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪç]. eigentliche is at rank #3,514, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçə].
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 3756, this pair ranks #1,999,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eigentlich vs eigentliche
Shared letters: ceghilnt. Private to "eigentlich": -. Private to "eigentliche": -.
"eigentlich" · 10 letters · shape VVCVCCCVCC · "eigentliche" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- eigentlich ← egientlich · eiegntlich · eigenltich · eigenntlich · eigentilch · eigentlcih · eigentlicch · eigentlichh
- eigentliche ← egientliche · eiegntliche · eigenltiche · eigenntliche · eigentilche · eigentlcihe · eigentlicche · eigentliceh
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eigentlich" for "eigentliche" ever safe?
Frequency check: "eigentlich" vs "eigentliche" - which ranks higher?
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 "eigentlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eigentliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,999,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eigentlich" and "eigentliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eigentliche vs eigentliches". 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 #1,999,446 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.