Which to use
“erfolgreich” and “erfolgreicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,156
- “erfolgreich” frequency rank
- #7,038
- “erfolgreicher” frequency rank
- 8194
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erfolgreich | erfolgreicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | reich an Erfolgen | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfolgreich |
Where the eye mixes erfolgreich and erfolgreicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. erfolgreich runs 11 letters (VCCVCCCVVCC) against erfolgreicher's 13 (VCCVCCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between erfolgreich and erfolgreicher
A purely visual mix-up. erfolgreich ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯ç]) and erfolgreicher ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çɐ]) 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) - “erfolgreich” sits inside “erfolgreicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erfolgreich is recorded at frequency rank #1,156, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯ç]. erfolgreicher is at rank #7,038, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çɐ].
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 8194, this pair ranks #1,985,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erfolgreich vs erfolgreicher
Shared letters: cefghilor. Private to "erfolgreich": -. Private to "erfolgreicher": -.
"erfolgreich" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVVCC · "erfolgreicher" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erfolgreich ← efrolgreich · erffolgreich · erflogreich · erfoglreich · erfolgerich · erfolggreich · erfolgrecih · erfolgreicch
- erfolgreicher ← efrolgreicher · erffolgreicher · erflogreicher · erfoglreicher · erfolgericher · erfolggreicher · erfolgreciher · erfolgreiccher
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erfolgreich" and "erfolgreicher" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "erfolgreich" or "erfolgreicher" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erfolgreich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erfolgreicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erfolgreich" and "erfolgreicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfolgreichem vs erfolgreicher". 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 #1,985,256 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.