erträglichvserträglicherConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,711
“erträglich” frequency rank
#35,753
“erträglicher” frequency rank
58464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erträglich erträglicher
Definition dergestalt, dass es ausgehalten werden kann Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erträglich

Where the eye mixes erträglich and erträglicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. erträglich runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCVCC) against erträglicher's 12 (VCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
erträglich
12 ch
erträglicher

Why the eye confuses erträglich with erträglicher

A purely visual mix-up. erträglich ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪç]) and erträglicher ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪçɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “erträglich” sits inside “erträglicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erträglich is recorded at frequency rank #22,711, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪç]. erträglicher is at rank #35,753, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪçɐ].

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 58464, this pair ranks #861,775 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erträglich vs erträglicher

Shared letters: ceghilrtä. Private to "erträglich": -. Private to "erträglicher": -.

"erträglich" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC  ·  "erträglicher" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erträglich" and "erträglicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪç] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erträglich" vs "erträglicher" - which ranks higher?
"erträglich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,711 in our German list, against #35,753 for "erträglicher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "erträglich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erträglicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #861,775 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics

Confusion rank #861,775 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