kinderlosvskinderlosenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,469
“kinderlos” frequency rank
#47,528
“kinderlosen” frequency rank
86997
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kinderlos kinderlosen
Definition keine Kinder besitzend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kinderlos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kinderlos and kinderlosen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
kinderlos
11 ch
kinderlosen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kinderlos ([ˈkɪndɐloːs]) and kinderlosen ([ˈkɪndɐloːzn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “kinderlos” sits inside “kinderlosen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kinderlos is recorded at frequency rank #39,469, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɪndɐloːs]. kinderlosen is at rank #47,528, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɪndɐloːzn̩].

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 86997, this pair ranks #86,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of kinderlos vs kinderlosen

Shared letters: deiklnors. Private to "kinderlos": -. Private to "kinderlosen": -.

"kinderlos" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "kinderlosen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kinderlosiknderlos · kidnerlos · kindderlos · kindelros · kinderllos · kinderloss · kinderlso · kinderols
  • kinderloseniknderlosen · kidnerlosen · kindderlosen · kindelrosen · kinderllosen · kinderloesn · kinderlosenn · kinderlosne

Frequency comparison

kinderlos#39,469
kinderlosen#47,528

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kinderlos" and "kinderlosen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkɪndɐloːs] versus [ˈkɪndɐloːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kinderlos" or "kinderlosen"?
"kinderlos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,469 in our German list, against #47,528 for "kinderlosen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kinderlos vs kinderlosen

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 “kinderlos” 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