gleichvsgleicherTell them apart

Which to use

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

#234
“gleich” frequency rank
#4,797
“gleicher” frequency rank
5031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gleich gleicher
Definition in jeder Hinsicht einander ähnelnd; so geartet, dass die Eigenschaften zweier Dinge sich wenig beziehungsweise gar nicht unterscheiden Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gleich

Where the eye mixes gleich and gleicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gleich runs 6 letters (CCVVCC) against gleicher's 8 (CCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gleich
8 ch
gleicher

Visual trap between gleich and gleicher

A purely visual mix-up. gleich ([ɡlaɪ̯ç]) and gleicher ([ˈɡlaɪ̯çɐ]) 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) - “gleich” sits inside “gleicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gleich is recorded at frequency rank #234, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡlaɪ̯ç]. gleicher is at rank #4,797, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡlaɪ̯çɐ].

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 5031, this pair ranks #1,995,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gleich vs gleicher

Shared letters: ceghil. Private to "gleich": -. Private to "gleicher": r.

"gleich" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC  ·  "gleicher" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gleich ← gelich · ggleich · glecih · gleicch · gleichh · gleihc · gliech · glleich
  • gleicher ← gelicher · ggleicher · gleciher · gleiccher · gleicehr · gleicherr · gleichher · gleichre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gleich" and "gleicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɡlaɪ̯ç] versus [ˈɡlaɪ̯çɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gleich" or "gleicher"?
"gleich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #234 in our German list, against #4,797 for "gleicher". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gleich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gleicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,995,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gleich" and "gleicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gleicher vs glichen". 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 #1,995,982 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