gründlichvsgründlicherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,928
“gründlich” frequency rank
#38,158
“gründlicher” frequency rank
45086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gründlich gründlicher
Definition durch und durch, eingehend; bis auf den Grund Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gründlich

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
gründlich
11 ch
gründlicher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gründlich ([ˈɡʁʏntlɪç]) and gründlicher ([ˈɡʁʏntlɪçɐ]) 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) - “gründlich” sits inside “gründlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gründlich is recorded at frequency rank #6,928, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁʏntlɪç]. gründlicher is at rank #38,158, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁʏntlɪçɐ].

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 45086, this pair ranks #1,364,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gründlich vs gründlicher

Shared letters: cdghilnrü. Private to "gründlich": -. Private to "gründlicher": e.

"gründlich" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC  ·  "gründlicher" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

gründlich#6,928
gründlicher#38,158

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gründlich" and "gründlicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁʏntlɪç] versus [ˈɡʁʏntlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gründlich" or "gründlicher"?
"gründlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,928 in our German list, against #38,158 for "gründlicher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gründlich vs gründlicher

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 “gründlich” 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