feindlichevsfeindlichenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,145
“feindliche” frequency rank
#15,622
“feindlichen” frequency rank
31767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feindliche feindlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs feindlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs feindlich

Where the eye mixes feindliche and feindlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. feindliche runs 10 letters (CVVCCCVCCV) against feindlichen's 11 (CVVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
feindliche
11 ch
feindlichen

Visual trap between feindliche and feindlichen

A purely visual mix-up. feindliche ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə]) and feindlichen ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçn̩]) 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) - “feindliche” sits inside “feindlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feindliche is recorded at frequency rank #16,145, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə]. feindlichen is at rank #15,622, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçn̩].

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 31767, this pair ranks #1,721,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of feindliche vs feindlichen

Shared letters: cdefhiln. Private to "feindliche": -. Private to "feindlichen": -.

"feindliche" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCV  ·  "feindlichen" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feindlicheefindliche · feidnliche · feinddliche · feindilche · feindlcihe · feindlicche · feindliceh · feindlichhe
  • feindlichenefindlichen · feidnlichen · feinddlichen · feindilchen · feindlcihen · feindlicchen · feindlicehn · feindlichenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "feindliche" and "feindlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə] versus [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "feindliche" vs "feindlichen" - which ranks higher?
"feindlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,622 in our German list, against #16,145 for "feindliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "feindliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "feindlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,721,481 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feindliche" and "feindlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feindliche 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 #1,721,481 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