Which to use
“harmlos” and “harmlose” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,387
- “harmlos” frequency rank
- #20,286
- “harmlose” frequency rank
- 28673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | harmlos | harmlose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | völlig unschädlich und ungefährlich, frei von Aggressionen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs harmlos |
Where the eye mixes harmlos and harmlose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between harmlos and harmlose
A purely visual mix-up. harmlos ([ˈhaʁmloːs]) and harmlose ([ˈhaʁmloːzə]) 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) - “harmlos” sits inside “harmlose”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
harmlos is recorded at frequency rank #8,387, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaʁmloːs]. harmlose is at rank #20,286, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaʁmloːzə].
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 28673, this pair ranks #1,780,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of harmlos vs harmlose
Shared letters: ahlmors. Private to "harmlos": -. Private to "harmlose": e.
"harmlos" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "harmlose" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "harmlos" for "harmlose" ever safe?
Which is more common, "harmlos" or "harmlose"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "harmlos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "harmlose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,780,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "harmlos" and "harmlose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "harmlose vs harmloser". 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 #1,780,607 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.