Which to use
“gefährlich” and “gefährliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,108
- “gefährlich” frequency rank
- #18,255
- “gefährliches” frequency rank
- 20363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gefährlich | gefährliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Gefahr, Risiko verbunden | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gefährlich |
Where the eye mixes gefährlich and gefährliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. gefährlich runs 10 letters (CVCVCCCVCC) against gefährliches's 12 (CVCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gefährlich vs gefährliches
A purely visual mix-up. gefährlich ([ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪç]) and gefährliches ([ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪçəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “gefährlich” sits inside “gefährliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gefährlich is recorded at frequency rank #2,108, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪç]. gefährliches is at rank #18,255, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈfɛːɐ̯lɪçəs].
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 20363, this pair ranks #1,898,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gefährlich vs gefährliches
Shared letters: cefghilrä. Private to "gefährlich": -. Private to "gefährliches": s.
"gefährlich" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC · "gefährliches" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gefährlich" for "gefährliches" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "gefährlich" or "gefährliches" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "gefährlich" and "gefährliches" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gefährlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gefährliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,898,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gefährlich" and "gefährliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gefährlicher vs gefährliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,898,497 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.