männlichvsmännlichenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,960
“männlich” frequency rank
#5,013
“männlichen” frequency rank
11973
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature männlich männlichen
Definition zum Manne gehörig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum und Neutrum,

Where the eye mixes männlich and männlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
männlich
10 ch
männlichen

Look-alike desk: männlich vs männlichen

A purely visual mix-up. männlich ([ˈmɛnlɪç]) and männlichen ([ˈmɛnlɪçn̩]) 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) - “männlich” sits inside “männlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

männlich is recorded at frequency rank #6,960, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɛnlɪç]. männlichen is at rank #5,013, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɛnlɪçn̩].

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 11973, this pair ranks #1,966,903 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of männlich vs männlichen

Shared letters: chilmnä. Private to "männlich": -. Private to "männlichen": e.

"männlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "männlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "männlich" and "männlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛnlɪç] versus [ˈmɛnlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "männlich" vs "männlichen" - which ranks higher?
"männlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,013 in our German list, against #6,960 for "männlich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "männlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "männlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,966,903 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "männlich" and "männlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "männlich vs männliches". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,966,903 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list