gewöhnlichenvsgewöhnlicherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,662
“gewöhnlichen” frequency rank
#18,905
“gewöhnlicher” frequency rank
30567
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewöhnlichen gewöhnlicher
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewöhnlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gewöhnlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gewöhnlichen and gewöhnlicher apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
gewöhnlichen
12 ch
gewöhnlicher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gewöhnlichen ([ɡəˈvøːnlɪçn̩]) and gewöhnlicher ([ɡəˈvøːnlɪçɐ]) 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 “gewöhnlichen” becomes r in “gewöhnlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewöhnlichen is recorded at frequency rank #11,662, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvøːnlɪçn̩]. gewöhnlicher is at rank #18,905, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvøːnlɪçɐ].

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 30567, this pair ranks #1,745,271 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gewöhnlichen vs gewöhnlicher

Shared letters: ceghilnwö. Private to "gewöhnlichen": -. Private to "gewöhnlicher": r.

"gewöhnlichen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCVC  ·  "gewöhnlicher" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

gewöhnlichen#11,662
gewöhnlicher#18,905

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gewöhnlichen" and "gewöhnlicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvøːnlɪçn̩] versus [ɡəˈvøːnlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gewöhnlichen" or "gewöhnlicher"?
"gewöhnlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,662 in our German list, against #18,905 for "gewöhnlicher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gewöhnlichen vs gewöhnlicher

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 “gewöhnlichen” 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