gläsernevsgläsernenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,394
“gläserne” frequency rank
#35,212
“gläsernen” frequency rank
74606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gläserne gläsernen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gläsern Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gläsern

Where the eye mixes gläserne and gläsernen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gläserne runs 8 letters (CCVCVCCV) against gläsernen's 9 (CCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
gläserne
9 ch
gläsernen

Look-alike desk: gläserne vs gläsernen

A purely visual mix-up. gläserne ([ˈɡlɛːzɐnə]) and gläsernen ([ˈɡlɛːzɐnən]) 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) - “gläserne” sits inside “gläsernen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gläserne is recorded at frequency rank #39,394, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlɛːzɐnə]. gläsernen is at rank #35,212, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlɛːzɐnən].

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 74606, this pair ranks #329,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gläserne vs gläsernen

Shared letters: eglnrsä. Private to "gläserne": -. Private to "gläsernen": -.

"gläserne" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV  ·  "gläsernen" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gläserne" and "gläsernen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡlɛːzɐnə] versus [ˈɡlɛːzɐnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gläserne" or "gläsernen"?
"gläsernen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,212 in our German list, against #39,394 for "gläserne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gläserne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gläsernen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #329,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gläserne" and "gläsernen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gläsern vs gläserne". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #329,035 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list