hässlichesvshäuslichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,109
“hässliches” frequency rank
#23,181
“häuslichen” frequency rank
54290
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hässliches häuslichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hässlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs häuslich

Where the eye mixes hässliches and häuslichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. hässliches (CVCCCVCCVC) and häuslichen (CVVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
hässliches
10 ch
häuslichen

Visual trap between hässliches and häuslichen

A purely visual mix-up. hässliches ([ˈhɛslɪçəs]) and häuslichen ([ˈhɔɪ̯slɪçn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hässliches is recorded at frequency rank #31,109, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɛslɪçəs]. häuslichen is at rank #23,181, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯slɪçn̩].

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 54290, this pair ranks #1,024,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hässliches vs häuslichen

Shared letters: cehilsä. Private to "hässliches": -. Private to "häuslichen": nu.

"hässliches" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "häuslichen" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "hässliches" for "häuslichen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɛslɪçəs] versus [ˈhɔɪ̯slɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "hässliches" vs "häuslichen" - which ranks higher?
"häuslichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,181 in our German list, against #31,109 for "hässliches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "hässliches" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "häuslichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,024,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hässliches" and "häuslichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hässliches vs häuslicher". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,024,566 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list