historischvshistorischeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,277
“historisch” frequency rank
#2,503
“historische” frequency rank
6780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature historisch historische
Definition die Geschichte betreffend, sich auf Geschichte beziehend, in der Art und Weise, wichtig für die Geschichte Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs historisch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set historisch and historische apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
historisch
11 ch
historische

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. historisch ([hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃ]) and historische ([hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃə]) 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) - “historisch” sits inside “historische”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

historisch is recorded at frequency rank #4,277, classified as anadj, pronounced [hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃ]. historische is at rank #2,503, tagged as anadj, pronounced [hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃə].

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 6780, this pair ranks #1,990,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of historisch vs historische

Shared letters: chiorst. Private to "historisch": -. Private to "historische": e.

"historisch" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCC  ·  "historische" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • historischhhistorisch · hisotrisch · hisstorisch · histoirsch · historicsh · historiscch · historischh · historishc
  • historischehhistorische · hisotrische · hisstorische · histoirsche · historicshe · historiscche · historisceh · historischhe

Frequency comparison

historisch#4,277
historische#2,503

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "historisch" and "historische" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃ] versus [hɪsˈtoːʁɪʃə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "historisch" or "historische"?
"historische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,503 in our German list, against #4,277 for "historisch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering historisch vs historische

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “historisch” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list