Which to use
“feindlich” and “feindliche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,006
- “feindlich” frequency rank
- #16,145
- “feindliche” frequency rank
- 42151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feindlich | feindliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | als Feind; wie ein Feind; ein Feind seiend; vom Feind | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs feindlich |
Where the eye mixes feindlich and feindliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. feindlich runs 9 letters (CVVCCCVCC) against feindliche's 10 (CVVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses feindlich with feindliche
A purely visual mix-up. feindlich ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪç]) and feindliche ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə]) 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) - “feindlich” sits inside “feindliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feindlich is recorded at frequency rank #26,006, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪç]. feindliche is at rank #16,145, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə].
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 42151, this pair ranks #1,458,051 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feindlich vs feindliche
Shared letters: cdefhiln. Private to "feindlich": -. Private to "feindliche": -.
"feindlich" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCVCC · "feindliche" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- feindlich ← efindlich · feidnlich · feinddlich · feindilch · feindlcih · feindlicch · feindlichh · feindlihc
- feindliche ← efindliche · feidnliche · feinddliche · feindilche · feindlcihe · feindlicche · feindliceh · feindlichhe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "feindlich" and "feindliche" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "feindlich" or "feindliche" show up more?
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 "feindlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "feindliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,458,051 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feindlich" and "feindliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feindlich vs feindliches". 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 #1,458,051 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.