Which to use
“gesetzliche” and “gesetzlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,597
- “gesetzliche” frequency rank
- #21,276
- “gesetzlicher” frequency rank
- 26873
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gesetzliche | gesetzlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gesetzlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gesetzlich |
Where the eye mixes gesetzliche and gesetzlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. gesetzliche runs 11 letters (CVCVCCCVCCV) against gesetzlicher's 12 (CVCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between gesetzliche and gesetzlicher
A purely visual mix-up. gesetzliche ([ɡəˈzɛt͡slɪçə]) and gesetzlicher ([ɡəˈzɛt͡slɪçɐ]) 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) - “gesetzliche” sits inside “gesetzlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gesetzliche is recorded at frequency rank #5,597, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡slɪçə]. gesetzlicher is at rank #21,276, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈzɛt͡slɪçɐ].
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 26873, this pair ranks #1,811,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gesetzliche vs gesetzlicher
Shared letters: ceghilstz. Private to "gesetzliche": -. Private to "gesetzlicher": r.
"gesetzliche" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCV · "gesetzlicher" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gesetzliche ← egsetzliche · geestzliche · gesetlziche · gesettzliche · gesetzilche · gesetzlcihe · gesetzlicche · gesetzliceh
- gesetzlicher ← egsetzlicher · geestzlicher · gesetlzicher · gesettzlicher · gesetzilcher · gesetzlciher · gesetzliccher · gesetzlicehr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gesetzliche" and "gesetzlicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "gesetzliche" vs "gesetzlicher" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gesetzliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gesetzlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,811,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gesetzliche" and "gesetzlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gesetzlicher vs gesetzliches". 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 #1,811,017 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.