Which to use
“erstaunliche” and “erstaunlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,355
- “erstaunliche” frequency rank
- #28,178
- “erstaunlichen” frequency rank
- 41533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstaunliche | erstaunlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich |
Where the eye mixes erstaunliche and erstaunlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. erstaunliche runs 12 letters (VCCCVVCCVCCV) against erstaunlichen's 13 (VCCCVVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erstaunliche with erstaunlichen
A purely visual mix-up. erstaunliche ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçə]) and erstaunlichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçn̩]) 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) - “erstaunliche” sits inside “erstaunlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstaunliche is recorded at frequency rank #13,355, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçə]. erstaunlichen is at rank #28,178, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçn̩].
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 41533, this pair ranks #1,476,580 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstaunliche vs erstaunlichen
Shared letters: acehilnrstu. Private to "erstaunliche": -. Private to "erstaunlichen": -.
"erstaunliche" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCV · "erstaunlichen" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstaunliche ← errstaunliche · ersatunliche · ersstaunliche · erstanuliche · erstaulniche · erstaunilche · erstaunlcihe · erstaunlicche
- erstaunlichen ← errstaunlichen · ersatunlichen · ersstaunlichen · erstanulichen · erstaulnichen · erstaunilchen · erstaunlcihen · erstaunlicchen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erstaunliche" for "erstaunlichen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erstaunliche" or "erstaunlichen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,476,580 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstaunliche" and "erstaunlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstaunlichen 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 #1,476,580 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.