Which to use
“katholisch” and “katholische” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,407
- “katholisch” frequency rank
- #4,365
- “katholische” frequency rank
- 17772
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | katholisch | katholische |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | allumfassend, im Folgenden insbesondere als Eigenschaft einiger christlicher Konfessionen, die allgemeine, beziehungsweise allumfassende Kirche zu sein, oder ihr anzugehören | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs katholisch |
Where the eye mixes katholisch and katholische
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. katholisch runs 10 letters (CVCCVCVCCC) against katholische's 11 (CVCCVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses katholisch with katholische
A purely visual mix-up. katholisch ([kaˈtoːlɪʃ]) and katholische ([kaˈtoːlɪʃə]) 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) - “katholisch” sits inside “katholische”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
katholisch is recorded at frequency rank #13,407, classified as anadj, pronounced [kaˈtoːlɪʃ]. katholische is at rank #4,365, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kaˈtoːlɪʃə].
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 17772, this pair ranks #1,924,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of katholisch vs katholische
Shared letters: achiklost. Private to "katholisch": -. Private to "katholische": e.
"katholisch" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCC · "katholische" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- katholisch ← aktholisch · kahtolisch · kathholisch · kathloisch · kathoilsch · katholicsh · katholiscch · katholischh
- katholische ← aktholische · kahtolische · kathholische · kathloische · kathoilsche · katholicshe · katholiscche · katholisceh
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "katholisch" and "katholische" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "katholisch" vs "katholische" - which ranks higher?
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 "katholisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "katholische" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,924,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "katholisch" and "katholische" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "katholisch vs katholisches". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,924,429 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.