neutralvsneutraleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,759
“neutral” frequency rank
#13,663
“neutrale” frequency rank
22422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neutral neutrale
Definition nicht parteiisch und/oder voreingenommen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs neutral

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
neutral
8 ch
neutrale

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. neutral ([nɔɪ̯ˈtʁaːl]) and neutrale ([nɔɪ̯ˈtʁaːlə]) 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) - “neutral” sits inside “neutrale”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neutral is recorded at frequency rank #8,759, classified as anadj, pronounced [nɔɪ̯ˈtʁaːl]. neutrale is at rank #13,663, tagged as anadj, pronounced [nɔɪ̯ˈtʁaːlə].

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 22422, this pair ranks #1,874,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of neutral vs neutrale

Shared letters: aelnrtu. Private to "neutral": -. Private to "neutrale": -.

"neutral" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "neutrale" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neutralenutral · netural · neurtal · neutarl · neutrall · neutrla · neutrral · neuttral
  • neutraleenutrale · neturale · neurtale · neutarle · neutrael · neutralle · neutrlae · neutrrale

Frequency comparison

neutral#8,759
neutrale#13,663

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neutral" and "neutrale" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([nɔɪ̯ˈtʁaːl] versus [nɔɪ̯ˈtʁaːlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "neutral" or "neutrale"?
"neutral" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,759 in our German list, against #13,663 for "neutrale". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering neutral vs neutrale

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 “neutral” 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