Which to use
“hässlichen” and “hässlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,915
- “hässlichen” frequency rank
- #28,253
- “hässlicher” frequency rank
- 44168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hässlichen | hässlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich |
Where the eye mixes hässlichen and hässlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. hässlichen and hässlicher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between hässlichen and hässlicher
A purely visual mix-up. hässlichen ([ˈhɛslɪçn̩]) 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 a single letter - n in “hässlichen” becomes r in “hässlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44168, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hässlichen is recorded at frequency rank #15,915, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪçn̩]. 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 44168, this pair ranks #1,394,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hässlichen vs hässlicher
Shared letters: cehilsä. Private to "hässlichen": n. Private to "hässlicher": r.
"hässlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "hässlicher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hässlichen" for "hässlicher" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hässlichen" or "hässlicher"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hässlichen" 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 #1,394,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hässlichen" and "hässlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hässlicher vs hässliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,394,796 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.