kontinuierlichvskontinuierlicheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,783
“kontinuierlich” frequency rank
#17,345
“kontinuierliche” frequency rank
25128
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kontinuierlich kontinuierliche
Definition stetig, über einen langen Zeitraum fortlaufend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kontinuierlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kontinuierlich and kontinuierliche apart are highlighted. They share 14 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

14 ch
kontinuierlich
15 ch
kontinuierliche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kontinuierlich ([kɔntinuˈʔiːɐ̯lɪç]) and kontinuierliche ([kɔntinuˈʔiːɐ̯lɪçə]) 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) - “kontinuierlich” sits inside “kontinuierliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kontinuierlich is recorded at frequency rank #7,783, classified as anadj, pronounced [kɔntinuˈʔiːɐ̯lɪç]. kontinuierliche is at rank #17,345, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kɔntinuˈʔiːɐ̯lɪçə].

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 25128, this pair ranks #1,837,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kontinuierlich vs kontinuierliche

Shared letters: cehiklnortu. Private to "kontinuierlich": -. Private to "kontinuierliche": -.

"kontinuierlich" · 14 letters · shape CVCCVCVVVCCVCC  ·  "kontinuierliche" · 15 letters · shape CVCCVCVVVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kontinuierlichkkontinuierlich · knotinuierlich · konitnuierlich · konntinuierlich · kontiniuerlich · kontinnuierlich · kontinueirlich · kontinuielrich
  • kontinuierlichekkontinuierliche · knotinuierliche · konitnuierliche · konntinuierliche · kontiniuerliche · kontinnuierliche · kontinueirliche · kontinuielriche

Frequency comparison

kontinuierlich#7,783
kontinuierliche#17,345

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kontinuierlich" and "kontinuierliche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kɔntinuˈʔiːɐ̯lɪç] versus [kɔntinuˈʔiːɐ̯lɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kontinuierlich" or "kontinuierliche"?
"kontinuierlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,783 in our German list, against #17,345 for "kontinuierliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kontinuierlich vs kontinuierliche

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 “kontinuierlich” 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