Which to use
“erstaunlich” and “erstaunliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,813
- “erstaunlich” frequency rank
- #42,472
- “erstaunliches” frequency rank
- 46285
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstaunlich | erstaunliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ungewöhnlich und dabei etwas anderes erwartend, dabei ein (leichtes) Staunen oder ein Gefühl des Befremdens auslösend | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich |
Where the eye mixes erstaunlich and erstaunliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. erstaunlich runs 11 letters (VCCCVVCCVCC) against erstaunliches's 13 (VCCCVVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: erstaunlich vs erstaunliches
A purely visual mix-up. erstaunlich ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪç]) and erstaunliches ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçəs]) 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) - “erstaunlich” sits inside “erstaunliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46285, 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]. erstaunliches is at rank #42,472, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçəs].
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 46285, this pair ranks #1,324,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstaunlich vs erstaunliches
Shared letters: acehilnrstu. Private to "erstaunlich": -. Private to "erstaunliches": -.
"erstaunlich" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCC · "erstaunliches" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstaunlich ← errstaunlich · ersatunlich · ersstaunlich · erstanulich · erstaulnich · erstaunilch · erstaunlcih · erstaunlicch
- erstaunliches ← errstaunliches · ersatunliches · ersstaunliches · erstanuliches · erstaulniches · erstaunilches · erstaunlcihes · erstaunlicches
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstaunlich" and "erstaunliches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erstaunlich" or "erstaunliches" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,324,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstaunlich" and "erstaunliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstaunlicher 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 #1,324,388 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.