feindlichevsfeindlicherWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,145
“feindliche” frequency rank
#41,803
“feindlicher” frequency rank
57948
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feindliche feindlicher
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs feindlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs feindlich

Where the eye mixes feindliche and feindlicher

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

10 ch
feindliche
11 ch
feindlicher

Why the eye confuses feindliche with feindlicher

A purely visual mix-up. feindliche ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə]) and feindlicher ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçɐ]) 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 “feindlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57948, 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]. feindlicher is at rank #41,803, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçɐ].

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 57948, this pair ranks #881,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feindliche vs feindlicher

Shared letters: cdefhiln. Private to "feindliche": -. Private to "feindlicher": r.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feindlicheefindliche · feidnliche · feinddliche · feindilche · feindlcihe · feindlicche · feindliceh · feindlichhe
  • feindlicherefindlicher · feidnlicher · feinddlicher · feindilcher · feindlciher · feindliccher · feindlicehr · feindlicherr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "feindliche" for "feindlicher" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçə] versus [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "feindliche" vs "feindlicher" - which ranks higher?
"feindliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,145 in our German list, against #41,803 for "feindlicher". 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 "feindliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "feindlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #881,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feindliche" and "feindlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feindlicher 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 #881,575 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