Which to use
“erstaunlichen” and “erstaunlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,178
- “erstaunlichen” frequency rank
- #29,564
- “erstaunlicher” frequency rank
- 57742
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstaunlichen | erstaunlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich |
Where the eye mixes erstaunlichen and erstaunlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. erstaunlichen and erstaunlicher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses erstaunlichen with erstaunlicher
A purely visual mix-up. erstaunlichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçn̩]) and erstaunlicher ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “erstaunlichen” becomes r in “erstaunlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57742, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstaunlichen is recorded at frequency rank #28,178, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçn̩]. erstaunlicher is at rank #29,564, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçɐ].
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 57742, this pair ranks #889,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstaunlichen vs erstaunlicher
Shared letters: acehilnrstu. Private to "erstaunlichen": -. Private to "erstaunlicher": -.
"erstaunlichen" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC · "erstaunlicher" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstaunlichen ← errstaunlichen · ersatunlichen · ersstaunlichen · erstanulichen · erstaulnichen · erstaunilchen · erstaunlcihen · erstaunlicchen
- erstaunlicher ← errstaunlicher · ersatunlicher · ersstaunlicher · erstanulicher · erstaulnicher · erstaunilcher · erstaunlciher · erstaunliccher
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstaunlichen" and "erstaunlicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erstaunlichen" or "erstaunlicher" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erstaunlichen" and "erstaunlicher" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstaunlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #889,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstaunlichen" and "erstaunlicher" 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 #889,498 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.