fröhlichevsfröhlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,284
“fröhliche” frequency rank
#15,094
“fröhlichen” frequency rank
27378
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fröhliche fröhlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs fröhlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs fröhlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fröhliche and fröhlichen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
fröhliche
10 ch
fröhlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fröhliche ([ˈfʁøːlɪçə]) and fröhlichen ([ˈfʁøːlɪçn̩]) 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) - “fröhliche” sits inside “fröhlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fröhliche is recorded at frequency rank #12,284, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁøːlɪçə]. fröhlichen is at rank #15,094, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁøːlɪçn̩].

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 27378, this pair ranks #1,802,739 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fröhliche vs fröhlichen

Shared letters: cefhilrö. Private to "fröhliche": -. Private to "fröhlichen": n.

"fröhliche" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCCV  ·  "fröhlichen" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

fröhliche#12,284
fröhlichen#15,094

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fröhliche" and "fröhlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʁøːlɪçə] versus [ˈfʁøːlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fröhliche" or "fröhlichen"?
"fröhliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,284 in our German list, against #15,094 for "fröhlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fröhliche vs fröhlichen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fröhliche” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list