göttlichevsgöttlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,315
“göttliche” frequency rank
#13,854
“göttlichen” frequency rank
28169
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature göttliche göttlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs göttlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs göttlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set göttliche and göttlichen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
göttliche
10 ch
göttlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. göttliche ([ˈɡœtlɪçə]) and göttlichen ([ˈɡœtlɪçn̩]) 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) - “göttliche” sits inside “göttlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

göttliche is recorded at frequency rank #14,315, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡœtlɪçə]. göttlichen is at rank #13,854, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡœtlɪçn̩].

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 28169, this pair ranks #1,789,362 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of göttliche vs göttlichen

Shared letters: ceghiltö. Private to "göttliche": -. Private to "göttlichen": n.

"göttliche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV  ·  "göttlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

göttliche#14,315
göttlichen#13,854

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "göttliche" and "göttlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡœtlɪçə] versus [ˈɡœtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "göttliche" or "göttlichen"?
"göttlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,854 in our German list, against #14,315 for "göttliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering göttliche vs göttlichen

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 “göttliche” 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