illegalevsillegalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,308
“illegale” frequency rank
#27,777
“illegales” frequency rank
34085
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature illegale illegales
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs illegal Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs illegal

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set illegale and illegales apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
illegale
9 ch
illegales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. illegale ([ˈɪleɡaːlə]) and illegales ([ˈɪleɡaːləs]) 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) - “illegale” sits inside “illegales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

illegale is recorded at frequency rank #6,308, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɪleɡaːlə]. illegales is at rank #27,777, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɪleɡaːləs].

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 34085, this pair ranks #1,671,351 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of illegale vs illegales

Shared letters: aegil. Private to "illegale": -. Private to "illegales": s.

"illegale" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "illegales" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • illegaleilegale · ilelgale · illeagle · illegael · illegalle · illeggale · illeglae · illgeale
  • illegalesilegales · ilelgales · illeagles · illegaels · illegaless · illegalles · illegalse · illeggales

Frequency comparison

illegale#6,308
illegales#27,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "illegale" and "illegales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɪleɡaːlə] versus [ˈɪleɡaːləs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "illegale" or "illegales"?
"illegale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,308 in our German list, against #27,777 for "illegales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering illegale vs illegales

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 “illegale” 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