neuerlichvsneulichWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: neuerlich is a adjective, neulich is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“neuerlich” is an adjective and “neulich” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,703
“neuerlich” frequency rank
#4,725
“neulich” frequency rank
35428
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neuerlich neulich
Definition unlängst geschehen, jetzt wiederholend vor nicht langer Zeit; vor Kurzem

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set neuerlich and neulich apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
neuerlich
7 ch
neulich

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neuerlich is [ˈnɔɪ̯ɐlɪç] while neulich is [ˈnɔɪ̯lɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neuerlich is recorded at frequency rank #30,703, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ɐlɪç]. neulich is at rank #4,725, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯lɪç].

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 35428, this pair ranks #1,640,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of neuerlich vs neulich

Shared letters: cehilnu. Private to "neuerlich": r. Private to "neulich": -.

"neuerlich" · 9 letters · shape CVVVCCVCC  ·  "neulich" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neuerlichenuerlich · neeurlich · neuelrich · neuerilch · neuerlcih · neuerlicch · neuerlichh · neuerlihc
  • neulichenulich · neluich · neuilch · neulcih · neulicch · neulichh · neulihc · neullich

Frequency comparison

neuerlich#30,703
neulich#4,725

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neuerlich" and "neulich" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "neuerlich" is an adjective and "neulich" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "neuerlich" or "neulich"?
"neulich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,725 in our German list, against #30,703 for "neuerlich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering neuerlich vs neulich

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “neuerlich”; for an adverb, it's “neulich”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “neuerlich” 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