Which to use
“eigentliche” and “eigentlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,514
- “eigentliche” frequency rank
- #34,605
- “eigentlicher” frequency rank
- 38119
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eigentliche | eigentlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigentlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eigentlich |
Where the eye mixes eigentliche and eigentlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between eigentliche and eigentlicher
A purely visual mix-up. eigentliche ([ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçə]) and eigentlicher ([ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçɐ]) 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) - “eigentliche” sits inside “eigentlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eigentliche is recorded at frequency rank #3,514, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçə]. eigentlicher is at rank #34,605, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçɐ].
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 38119, this pair ranks #1,572,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eigentliche vs eigentlicher
Shared letters: ceghilnt. Private to "eigentliche": -. Private to "eigentlicher": r.
"eigentliche" · 11 letters · shape VVCVCCCVCCV · "eigentlicher" · 12 letters · shape VVCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- eigentliche ← egientliche · eiegntliche · eigenltiche · eigenntliche · eigentilche · eigentlcihe · eigentlicche · eigentliceh
- eigentlicher ← egientlicher · eiegntlicher · eigenlticher · eigenntlicher · eigentilcher · eigentlciher · eigentliccher · eigentlicehr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eigentliche" for "eigentlicher" ever safe?
Which is more common, "eigentliche" or "eigentlicher"?
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 "eigentliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eigentlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,572,291 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eigentliche" and "eigentlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eigentlicher 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 #1,572,291 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.