kaufmännischevskaufmännischenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,749
“kaufmännische” frequency rank
#19,272
“kaufmännischen” frequency rank
36021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kaufmännische kaufmännischen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kaufmännisch Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kaufmännisch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kaufmännische and kaufmännischen apart are highlighted. They share 13 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
kaufmännische
14 ch
kaufmännischen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kaufmännische ([ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃə]) and kaufmännischen ([ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃn̩]) 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) - “kaufmännische” sits inside “kaufmännischen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kaufmännische is recorded at frequency rank #16,749, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃə]. kaufmännischen is at rank #19,272, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃn̩].

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 36021, this pair ranks #1,625,950 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kaufmännische vs kaufmännischen

Shared letters: acefhikmnsuä. Private to "kaufmännische": -. Private to "kaufmännischen": -.

"kaufmännische" · 13 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVCCCV  ·  "kaufmännischen" · 14 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

kaufmännische#16,749
kaufmännischen#19,272

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kaufmännische" and "kaufmännischen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃə] versus [ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kaufmännische" or "kaufmännischen"?
"kaufmännische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,749 in our German list, against #19,272 for "kaufmännischen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kaufmännische vs kaufmännischen

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 “kaufmännische” 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