mittlerevsmittlerenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,722
“mittlere” frequency rank
#3,268
“mittleren” frequency rank
7990
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mittlere mittleren
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs mittel Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Komparativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs mittel

Where the eye mixes mittlere and mittleren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. mittlere runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against mittleren's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
mittlere
9 ch
mittleren

Visual trap between mittlere and mittleren

A purely visual mix-up. mittlere ([ˈmɪtləʁə]) and mittleren ([ˈmɪtləʁən]) 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) - “mittlere” sits inside “mittleren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mittlere is recorded at frequency rank #4,722, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɪtləʁə]. mittleren is at rank #3,268, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɪtləʁən].

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 7990, this pair ranks #1,986,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mittlere vs mittleren

Shared letters: eilmrt. Private to "mittlere": -. Private to "mittleren": n.

"mittlere" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "mittleren" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mittlere ← imttlere · mitlere · mitltere · mittelre · mittleer · mittlerre · mittllere · mittlree
  • mittleren ← imttleren · mitleren · mitlteren · mittelren · mittleern · mittlerenn · mittlerne · mittlerren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mittlere" for "mittleren" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪtləʁə] versus [ˈmɪtləʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mittlere" or "mittleren"?
"mittleren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,268 in our German list, against #4,722 for "mittlere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mittlere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mittleren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,986,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mittlere" and "mittleren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mittlere vs mittlerem". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,986,048 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