Which to use
“erstaunlichen” and “erstaunliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,178
- “erstaunlichen” frequency rank
- #42,472
- “erstaunliches” frequency rank
- 70650
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstaunlichen | erstaunliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstaunlich |
Where the eye mixes erstaunlichen and erstaunliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. erstaunlichen and erstaunliches 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 erstaunliches
A purely visual mix-up. erstaunlichen ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʊ̯nlɪçn̩]) 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 a single letter - n in “erstaunlichen” becomes s in “erstaunliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70650, 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]. 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 70650, this pair ranks #439,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erstaunlichen vs erstaunliches
Shared letters: acehilnrstu. Private to "erstaunlichen": -. Private to "erstaunliches": -.
"erstaunlichen" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC · "erstaunliches" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstaunlichen ← errstaunlichen · ersatunlichen · ersstaunlichen · erstanulichen · erstaulnichen · erstaunilchen · erstaunlcihen · erstaunlicchen
- erstaunliches ← errstaunliches · ersatunliches · ersstaunliches · erstanuliches · erstaulniches · erstaunilches · erstaunlcihes · erstaunlicches
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstaunlichen" and "erstaunliches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erstaunlichen" or "erstaunliches" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "erstaunlichen" and "erstaunliches" 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 "erstaunliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,923 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstaunlichen" 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 #439,923 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.