furchtbarenvsfurchtbaresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,259
“furchtbaren” frequency rank
#42,505
“furchtbares” frequency rank
62764
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature furchtbaren furchtbares
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs furchtbar Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs furchtbar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set furchtbaren and furchtbares apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
furchtbaren
11 ch
furchtbares

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. furchtbaren ([ˈfʊʁçtbaːʁən]) and furchtbares ([ˈfʊʁçtbaːʁəs]) 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 a single letter - n in “furchtbaren” becomes s in “furchtbares”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62764, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

furchtbaren is recorded at frequency rank #20,259, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʊʁçtbaːʁən]. furchtbares is at rank #42,505, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʊʁçtbaːʁəs].

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 62764, this pair ranks #701,119 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of furchtbaren vs furchtbares

Shared letters: abcefhrtu. Private to "furchtbaren": n. Private to "furchtbares": s.

"furchtbaren" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCVC  ·  "furchtbares" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • furchtbarenffurchtbaren · fucrhtbaren · furcchtbaren · furchbtaren · furchhtbaren · furchtabren · furchtbaern · furchtbarenn
  • furchtbaresffurchtbares · fruchtbares · fucrhtbares · furcchtbares · furchbtares · furchhtbares · furchtabres · furchtbaers

Frequency comparison

furchtbaren#20,259
furchtbares#42,505

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "furchtbaren" and "furchtbares" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʊʁçtbaːʁən] versus [ˈfʊʁçtbaːʁəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "furchtbaren" or "furchtbares"?
"furchtbaren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,259 in our German list, against #42,505 for "furchtbares". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering furchtbaren vs furchtbares

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 “furchtbaren” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list