mündlichvsmündlichenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,338
“mündlich” frequency rank
#16,233
“mündlichen” frequency rank
34571
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mündlich mündlichen
Definition in gesprochener Form Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs mündlich

Where the eye mixes mündlich and mündlichen

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

8 ch
mündlich
10 ch
mündlichen

Why the eye confuses mündlich with mündlichen

A purely visual mix-up. mündlich ([ˈmʏntˌlɪç]) and mündlichen ([ˈmʏntˌlɪçn̩]) 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) - “mündlich” sits inside “mündlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mündlich is recorded at frequency rank #18,338, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmʏntˌlɪç]. mündlichen is at rank #16,233, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmʏntˌlɪçn̩].

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 34571, this pair ranks #1,660,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mündlich vs mündlichen

Shared letters: cdhilmnü. Private to "mündlich": -. Private to "mündlichen": e.

"mündlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "mündlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mündlich" and "mündlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmʏntˌlɪç] versus [ˈmʏntˌlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mündlich" or "mündlichen"?
"mündlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,233 in our German list, against #18,338 for "mündlich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "mündlich" and "mündlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mündlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mündlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,660,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mündlich" and "mündlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mondlicht vs mündlich". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,660,209 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