ethnischvsethnischeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,995
“ethnisch” frequency rank
#16,413
“ethnische” frequency rank
42408
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ethnisch ethnische
Definition einer sprachlich-kulturell einheitlichen Volksgruppe angehörend, eine einheitliche Volksgruppe betreffend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ethnisch

Where the eye mixes ethnisch and ethnische

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ethnisch runs 8 letters (VCCCVCCC) against ethnische's 9 (VCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
ethnisch
9 ch
ethnische

Visual trap between ethnisch and ethnische

A purely visual mix-up. ethnisch ([ˈeːtnɪʃ]) and ethnische ([ˈeːtnɪʃə]) 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) - “ethnisch” sits inside “ethnische”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ethnisch is recorded at frequency rank #25,995, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːtnɪʃ]. ethnische is at rank #16,413, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːtnɪʃə].

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 42408, this pair ranks #1,450,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ethnisch vs ethnische

Shared letters: cehinst. Private to "ethnisch": -. Private to "ethnische": -.

"ethnisch" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC  ·  "ethnische" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ethnischehtnisch · ethhnisch · ethinsch · ethnicsh · ethniscch · ethnischh · ethnishc · ethnissch
  • ethnischeehtnische · ethhnische · ethinsche · ethnicshe · ethniscche · ethnisceh · ethnischhe · ethnishce

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ethnisch" and "ethnische" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːtnɪʃ] versus [ˈeːtnɪʃə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ethnisch" or "ethnische"?
"ethnische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,413 in our German list, against #25,995 for "ethnisch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ethnisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ethnische" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,450,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ethnisch" and "ethnische" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ethnisch vs ethnischer". 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 #1,450,252 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