ElektrischevselektrischerConfusable pair

Quick tell: Elektrische is a noun, elektrischer is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Elektrische” is a noun and “elektrischer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,476
“Elektrische” frequency rank
#15,341
“elektrischer” frequency rank
20817
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Elektrische elektrischer
Definition Bezeichnung für die mit Strom betriebene Straßenbahn Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs elektrisch

Where the eye mixes Elektrische and elektrischer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.

11 ch
Elektrische
12 ch
elektrischer

Why the eye confuses Elektrische with elektrischer

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Elektrische is [eˈlɛktʁɪʃə] while elektrischer is [eˈlɛktʁɪʃɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Elektrische” sits inside “elektrischer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Elektrische is recorded at frequency rank #5,476, classified as anoun, pronounced [eˈlɛktʁɪʃə]. elektrischer is at rank #15,341, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eˈlɛktʁɪʃɐ].

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 20817, this pair ranks #1,893,402 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Elektrische vs elektrischer

Shared letters: cehiklrst. Private to "Elektrische": -. Private to "elektrischer": -.

"Elektrische" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCCV  ·  "elektrischer" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Elektrischeeelktrische · elekktrische · elekrtische · elektirsche · elektricshe · elektriscche · elektrisceh · elektrischhe
  • elektrischereelktrischer · elekktrischer · elekrtischer · elektirscher · elektricsher · elektrisccher · elektriscehr · elektrischerr

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Elektrische" and "elektrischer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Elektrische" is a noun and "elektrischer" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Elektrische" vs "elektrischer" - which ranks higher?
"Elektrische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,476 in our German list, against #15,341 for "elektrischer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Elektrische" and "elektrischer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Elektrische" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "elektrischer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,893,402 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Elektrische" and "elektrischer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elektrischer 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 #1,893,402 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