gründlichevsgründlicherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,364
“gründliche” frequency rank
#38,158
“gründlicher” frequency rank
60522
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gründliche gründlicher
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gründlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gründlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gründliche and gründlicher apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
gründliche
11 ch
gründlicher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gründliche ([ˈɡʁʏntlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “gründliche” sits inside “gründlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gründliche is recorded at frequency rank #22,364, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʁʏntlɪçə]. 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 60522, this pair ranks #783,877 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gründliche vs gründlicher

Shared letters: cdeghilnrü. Private to "gründliche": -. Private to "gründlicher": -.

"gründliche" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCV  ·  "gründlicher" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

gründliche#22,364
gründlicher#38,158

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gründliche" and "gründlicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʁʏntlɪçə] versus [ˈɡʁʏntlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gründliche" or "gründlicher"?
"gründliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,364 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 gründliche 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 “gründliche” 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