feindlichervsfreundlicherTell them apart

Which to use

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

#41,803
“feindlicher” frequency rank
#11,875
“freundlicher” frequency rank
53678
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feindlicher freundlicher
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs feindlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs freundlich

Where the eye mixes feindlicher and freundlicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. feindlicher runs 11 letters (CVVCCCVCCVC) against freundlicher's 12 (CCVVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
feindlicher
12 ch
freundlicher

Look-alike desk: feindlicher vs freundlicher

A purely visual mix-up. feindlicher ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçɐ]) and freundlicher ([ˈfʁɔɪ̯ntlɪçɐ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feindlicher is recorded at frequency rank #41,803, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçɐ]. freundlicher is at rank #11,875, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁɔɪ̯ntlɪçɐ].

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 53678, this pair ranks #1,048,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feindlicher vs freundlicher

Shared letters: cdefhilnr. Private to "feindlicher": -. Private to "freundlicher": u.

"feindlicher" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCVC  ·  "freundlicher" · 12 letters · shape CCVVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feindlicherefindlicher · feidnlicher · feinddlicher · feindilcher · feindlciher · feindliccher · feindlicehr · feindlicherr
  • freundlicherferundlicher · ffreundlicher · frenudlicher · freudnlicher · freunddlicher · freundilcher · freundlciher · freundliccher

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "feindlicher" and "freundlicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaɪ̯ntlɪçɐ] versus [ˈfʁɔɪ̯ntlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "feindlicher" vs "freundlicher" - which ranks higher?
"freundlicher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,875 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "feindlicher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "freundlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,048,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feindlicher" and "freundlicher" 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 #1,048,660 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