niedlichvsniedlicheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,140
“niedlich” frequency rank
#31,705
“niedliche” frequency rank
43845
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature niedlich niedliche
Definition so süß und putzig, dass man es mag Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs niedlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set niedlich and niedliche apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
niedlich
9 ch
niedliche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. niedlich ([ˈniːtlɪç]) and niedliche ([ˈniːtlɪçə]) 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) - “niedlich” sits inside “niedliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

niedlich is recorded at frequency rank #12,140, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈniːtlɪç]. niedliche is at rank #31,705, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈniːtlɪçə].

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 43845, this pair ranks #1,405,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of niedlich vs niedliche

Shared letters: cdehiln. Private to "niedlich": -. Private to "niedliche": -.

"niedlich" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "niedliche" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • niedlichinedlich · neidlich · nidelich · nieddlich · niedilch · niedlcih · niedlicch · niedlichh
  • niedlicheinedliche · neidliche · nideliche · nieddliche · niedilche · niedlcihe · niedlicche · niedliceh

Frequency comparison

niedlich#12,140
niedliche#31,705

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "niedlich" and "niedliche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈniːtlɪç] versus [ˈniːtlɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "niedlich" or "niedliche"?
"niedlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,140 in our German list, against #31,705 for "niedliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering niedlich vs niedliche

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 “niedlich” 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