erstaunlichevserstaunlichesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“erstaunliche” and “erstaunliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,355
“erstaunliche” frequency rank
#42,472
“erstaunliches” frequency rank
55827
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erstaunliche erstaunliches
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich

Where the eye mixes erstaunliche and erstaunliches

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. erstaunliche runs 12 letters (VCCCVVCCVCCV) against erstaunliches's 13 (VCCCVVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
erstaunliche
13 ch
erstaunliches

Look-alike desk: erstaunliche vs erstaunliches

A purely visual mix-up. erstaunliche ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “erstaunliche” sits inside “erstaunliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55827, 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]. 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 55827, this pair ranks #964,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erstaunliche vs erstaunliches

Shared letters: acehilnrstu. Private to "erstaunliche": -. Private to "erstaunliches": -.

"erstaunliche" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCV  ·  "erstaunliches" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erstaunliche ← errstaunliche · ersatunliche · ersstaunliche · erstanuliche · erstaulniche · erstaunilche · erstaunlcihe · erstaunlicche
  • erstaunliches ← errstaunliches · ersatunliches · ersstaunliches · erstanuliches · erstaulniches · erstaunilches · erstaunlcihes · erstaunlicches

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erstaunliche" and "erstaunliches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçə] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erstaunliche" or "erstaunliches"?
"erstaunliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,355 in our German list, against #42,472 for "erstaunliches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "erstaunliche" and "erstaunliches" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erstaunliche" 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 #964,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erstaunliche" 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 #964,125 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list