hölzernevshölzernenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,388
“hölzerne” frequency rank
#19,612
“hölzernen” frequency rank
44000
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hölzerne hölzernen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hölzern Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hölzern

Where the eye mixes hölzerne and hölzernen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. hölzerne runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against hölzernen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
hölzerne
9 ch
hölzernen

Look-alike desk: hölzerne vs hölzernen

A purely visual mix-up. hölzerne ([ˈhœlt͡sɐnə]) and hölzernen ([ˈhœlt͡sɐnən]) 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) - “hölzerne” sits inside “hölzernen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44000, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hölzerne is recorded at frequency rank #24,388, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhœlt͡sɐnə]. hölzernen is at rank #19,612, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhœlt͡sɐnən].

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 44000, this pair ranks #1,400,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hölzerne vs hölzernen

Shared letters: ehlnrzö. Private to "hölzerne": -. Private to "hölzernen": -.

"hölzerne" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "hölzernen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hölzerne" and "hölzernen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhœlt͡sɐnə] versus [ˈhœlt͡sɐnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "hölzerne" vs "hölzernen" - which ranks higher?
"hölzernen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,612 in our German list, against #24,388 for "hölzerne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "hölzerne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "hölzernen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,400,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "hölzerne" and "hölzernen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hölzern vs hölzerne". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,400,292 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