Which to use
“hässliche” and “hässlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,510
- “hässliche” frequency rank
- #28,253
- “hässlicher” frequency rank
- 40763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hässliche | hässlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich |
Where the eye mixes hässliche and hässlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. hässliche runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCCV) against hässlicher's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses hässliche with hässlicher
A purely visual mix-up. hässliche ([ˈhɛslɪçə]) and hässlicher ([ˈhɛslɪçɐ]) 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) - “hässliche” sits inside “hässlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hässliche is recorded at frequency rank #12,510, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪçə]. hässlicher is at rank #28,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪçɐ].
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 40763, this pair ranks #1,499,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hässliche vs hässlicher
Shared letters: cehilsä. Private to "hässliche": -. Private to "hässlicher": r.
"hässliche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV · "hässlicher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hässliche" and "hässlicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hässliche" or "hässlicher"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hässliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hässlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,499,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hässliche" and "hässlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hässlicher vs hässliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,499,022 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.