elektrischvselektrischenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,639
“elektrisch” frequency rank
#6,917
“elektrischen” frequency rank
18556
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elektrisch elektrischen
Definition durch Elektrizität (also die Anziehungs- und Abstoßungskraft der geladenen Elementarteilchen) hervorgerufen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs elektrisch

Where the eye mixes elektrisch and elektrischen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. elektrisch runs 10 letters (VCVCCCVCCC) against elektrischen's 12 (VCVCCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
elektrisch
12 ch
elektrischen

Why the eye confuses elektrisch with elektrischen

A purely visual mix-up. elektrisch ([eˈlɛktʁɪʃ]) and elektrischen ([eˈlɛktʁɪʃn̩]) 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) - “elektrisch” sits inside “elektrischen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elektrisch is recorded at frequency rank #11,639, classified as anadj, pronounced [eˈlɛktʁɪʃ]. elektrischen is at rank #6,917, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eˈlɛktʁɪʃn̩].

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 18556, this pair ranks #1,917,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of elektrisch vs elektrischen

Shared letters: cehiklrst. Private to "elektrisch": -. Private to "elektrischen": n.

"elektrisch" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCC  ·  "elektrischen" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • elektrisch ← eelktrisch · elekktrisch · elekrtisch · elektirsch · elektricsh · elektriscch · elektrischh · elektrishc
  • elektrischen ← eelktrischen · elekktrischen · elekrtischen · elektirschen · elektricshen · elektriscchen · elektriscehn · elektrischenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "elektrisch" for "elektrischen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eˈlɛktʁɪʃ] versus [eˈlɛktʁɪʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "elektrisch" or "elektrischen"?
"elektrischen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,917 in our German list, against #11,639 for "elektrisch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "elektrisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "elektrischen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,917,104 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "elektrisch" and "elektrischen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elektrisch vs elektrisches". 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 #1,917,104 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