Which to use
“erstmalige” and “erstmaligen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,724
- “erstmalige” frequency rank
- #34,634
- “erstmaligen” frequency rank
- 73358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstmalige | erstmaligen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstmalig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs erstmalig |
Where the eye mixes erstmalige and erstmaligen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. erstmalige runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCVCV) against erstmaligen's 11 (VCCCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses erstmalige with erstmaligen
A purely visual mix-up. erstmalige ([ˈeːɐ̯stmaːlɪɡə]) and erstmaligen ([ˈeːɐ̯stmaːlɪɡn̩]) 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) - “erstmalige” sits inside “erstmaligen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstmalige is recorded at frequency rank #38,724, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stmaːlɪɡə]. erstmaligen is at rank #34,634, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stmaːlɪɡn̩].
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 73358, this pair ranks #362,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of erstmalige vs erstmaligen
Shared letters: aegilmrst. Private to "erstmalige": -. Private to "erstmaligen": n.
"erstmalige" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCVCV · "erstmaligen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- erstmalige ← errstmalige · ersmtalige · ersstmalige · erstamlige · erstmailge · erstmalgie · erstmalieg · erstmaligge
- erstmaligen ← errstmaligen · ersmtaligen · ersstmaligen · erstamligen · erstmailgen · erstmalgien · erstmaliegn · erstmaligenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "erstmalige" for "erstmaligen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "erstmalige" or "erstmaligen" 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 "erstmalige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstmaligen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #362,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstmalige" and "erstmaligen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstmalig vs erstmalige". 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 #362,541 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.