niedrigvsniedrigerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,288
“niedrig” frequency rank
#4,918
“niedriger” frequency rank
10206
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature niedrig niedriger
Definition unten befindlich, tief gelegen, nicht hoch Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs niedrig

Where the eye mixes niedrig and niedriger

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. niedrig runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against niedriger's 9 (CVVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
niedrig
9 ch
niedriger

Visual trap between niedrig and niedriger

A purely visual mix-up. niedrig ([ˈniːdʁɪç]) and niedriger ([ˈniːdʁɪɡɐ]) 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) - “niedrig” sits inside “niedriger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

niedrig is recorded at frequency rank #5,288, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈniːdʁɪç]. niedriger is at rank #4,918, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈniːdʁɪɡɐ].

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 10206, this pair ranks #1,976,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of niedrig vs niedriger

Shared letters: deginr. Private to "niedrig": -. Private to "niedriger": -.

"niedrig" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "niedriger" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • niedriginedrig · neidrig · niderig · nieddrig · niedirg · niedrgi · niedrigg · niedrrig
  • niedrigerinedriger · neidriger · nideriger · nieddriger · niedirger · niedrgier · niedriegr · niedrigerr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "niedrig" and "niedriger" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈniːdʁɪç] versus [ˈniːdʁɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "niedrig" vs "niedriger" - which ranks higher?
"niedriger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,918 in our German list, against #5,288 for "niedrig". 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 "niedrig" and "niedriger" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "niedrig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "niedriger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,976,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "niedrig" and "niedriger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "niedriger vs niedrigerer". 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 #1,976,253 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