elektrischenvselektrischerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,917
“elektrischen” frequency rank
#15,341
“elektrischer” frequency rank
22258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elektrischen elektrischer
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs elektrisch Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs elektrisch

Where the eye mixes elektrischen and elektrischer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. elektrischen and elektrischer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

12 ch
elektrischen
12 ch
elektrischer

Why the eye confuses elektrischen with elektrischer

A purely visual mix-up. elektrischen ([eˈlɛktʁɪʃn̩]) and elektrischer ([eˈlɛktʁɪʃɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “elektrischen” becomes r in “elektrischer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elektrischen is recorded at frequency rank #6,917, classified as anadj, pronounced [eˈlɛktʁɪʃn̩]. 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 22258, this pair ranks #1,876,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of elektrischen vs elektrischer

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

"elektrischen" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCCVC  ·  "elektrischer" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • elektrischen ← eelktrischen · elekktrischen · elekrtischen · elektirschen · elektricshen · elektriscchen · elektriscehn · elektrischenn
  • elektrischer ← eelktrischer · elekktrischer · elekrtischer · elektirscher · elektricsher · elektrisccher · elektriscehr · elektrischerr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "elektrischen" for "elektrischer" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eˈlɛktʁɪʃn̩] versus [eˈlɛktʁɪʃɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "elektrischen" or "elektrischer" show up more?
"elektrischen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,917 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

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "elektrischen" 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 #1,876,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "elektrischen" 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 #1,876,369 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