männlichevsmännlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,817
“männliche” frequency rank
#5,013
“männlichen” frequency rank
9830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature männliche männlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs männlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum und Neutrum,

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
männliche
10 ch
männlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. männliche ([ˈmɛnlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “männliche” sits inside “männlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

männliche is recorded at frequency rank #4,817, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɛnlɪçə]. 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 9830, this pair ranks #1,978,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of männliche vs männlichen

Shared letters: cehilmnä. Private to "männliche": -. Private to "männlichen": -.

"männliche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV  ·  "männlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

männliche#4,817
männlichen#5,013

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "männliche" and "männlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɛnlɪçə] versus [ˈmɛnlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "männliche" or "männlichen"?
"männliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,817 in our German list, against #5,013 for "männlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering männliche vs männlichen

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 “männliche” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list