Which to use
“hässlicher” and “häuslicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,253
- “hässlicher” frequency rank
- #30,616
- “häuslicher” frequency rank
- 58869
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hässlicher | häuslicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs häuslich |
Where the eye mixes hässlicher and häuslicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. hässlicher (CVCCCVCCVC) and häuslicher (CVVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: hässlicher vs häuslicher
A purely visual mix-up. hässlicher ([ˈhɛslɪçɐ]) and häuslicher ([ˈhɔɪ̯slɪçɐ]) 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 - s in “hässlicher” becomes u in “häuslicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58869, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hässlicher is recorded at frequency rank #28,253, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪçɐ]. häuslicher is at rank #30,616, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯slɪçɐ].
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 58869, this pair ranks #846,198 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hässlicher vs häuslicher
Shared letters: cehilrsä. Private to "hässlicher": -. Private to "häuslicher": u.
"hässlicher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "häuslicher" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hässlicher" for "häuslicher" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "hässlicher" or "häuslicher" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "hässlicher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "häuslicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #846,198 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hässlicher" and "häuslicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hässliches vs häuslicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #846,198 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.