Which to use
“erforderlich” and “erforderlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,494
- “erforderlich” frequency rank
- #6,784
- “erforderlichen” frequency rank
- 9278
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erforderlich | erforderlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemand/etwas ist nötig, wird gebraucht | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erforderlich |
Where the eye mixes erforderlich and erforderlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. erforderlich runs 12 letters (VCCVCCVCCVCC) against erforderlichen's 14 (VCCVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erforderlich vs erforderlichen
A purely visual mix-up. erforderlich ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔʁdɐlɪç]) and erforderlichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔʁdɐlɪçn̩]) 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) - “erforderlich” sits inside “erforderlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9278, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erforderlich is recorded at frequency rank #2,494, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔʁdɐlɪç]. erforderlichen is at rank #6,784, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔʁdɐlɪçn̩].
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 9278, this pair ranks #1,980,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erforderlich vs erforderlichen
Shared letters: cdefhilor. Private to "erforderlich": -. Private to "erforderlichen": n.
"erforderlich" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCC · "erforderlichen" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erforderlich ← efrorderlich · erfforderlich · erfodrerlich · erfordderlich · erfordelrich · erforderilch · erforderlcih · erforderlicch
- erforderlichen ← efrorderlichen · erfforderlichen · erfodrerlichen · erfordderlichen · erfordelrichen · erforderilchen · erforderlcihen · erforderlicchen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "erforderlich" and "erforderlichen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "erforderlich" or "erforderlichen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erforderlich" and "erforderlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erforderlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erforderlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,980,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erforderlich" and "erforderlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erforderliche vs erforderlichen". 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 #1,980,699 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.