kaufmännischevskaufmännischerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,749
“kaufmännische” frequency rank
#29,654
“kaufmännischer” frequency rank
46403
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kaufmännische kaufmännischer
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kaufmännisch Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs kaufmännisch

Where the spellings diverge

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

13 ch
kaufmännische
14 ch
kaufmännischer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kaufmännische ([ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃə]) and kaufmännischer ([ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃɐ]) 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 “kaufmännischer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46403, 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]. kaufmännischer is at rank #29,654, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃɐ].

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 46403, this pair ranks #1,320,295 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of kaufmännische vs kaufmännischer

Shared letters: acefhikmnsuä. Private to "kaufmännische": -. Private to "kaufmännischer": r.

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

Frequency comparison

kaufmännische#16,749
kaufmännischer#29,654

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kaufmännische" and "kaufmännischer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃə] versus [ˈkaʊ̯fˌmɛnɪʃɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kaufmännische" or "kaufmännischer"?
"kaufmännische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,749 in our German list, against #29,654 for "kaufmännischer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kaufmännische vs kaufmännischer

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