Which to use
“erstaunlich” and “erstaunliche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,813
- “erstaunlich” frequency rank
- #13,355
- “erstaunliche” frequency rank
- 17168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstaunlich | erstaunliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ungewöhnlich und dabei etwas anderes erwartend, dabei ein (leichtes) Staunen oder ein Gefühl des Befremdens auslösend | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich |
Where the eye mixes erstaunlich and erstaunliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. erstaunlich runs 11 letters (VCCCVVCCVCC) against erstaunliche's 12 (VCCCVVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erstaunlich vs erstaunliche
A purely visual mix-up. erstaunlich ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç]) and erstaunliche ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “erstaunlich” sits inside “erstaunliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstaunlich is recorded at frequency rank #3,813, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç]. erstaunliche is at rank #13,355, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçə].
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 17168, this pair ranks #1,929,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of erstaunlich vs erstaunliche
Shared letters: acehilnrstu. Private to "erstaunlich": -. Private to "erstaunliche": -.
"erstaunlich" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCC · "erstaunliche" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstaunlich ← errstaunlich · ersatunlich · ersstaunlich · erstanulich · erstaulnich · erstaunilch · erstaunlcih · erstaunlicch
- erstaunliche ← errstaunliche · ersatunliche · ersstaunliche · erstanuliche · erstaulniche · erstaunilche · erstaunlcihe · erstaunlicche
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstaunlich" and "erstaunliche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erstaunlich" or "erstaunliche"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erstaunlich" and "erstaunliche" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,929,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstaunlich" and "erstaunliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstaunliche vs erstaunliches". 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 #1,929,778 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.