nützlichvsnützlicheConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,635
“nützlich” frequency rank
#13,213
“nützliche” frequency rank
18848
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nützlich nützliche
Definition die Eigenschaft, von Nutzen zu sein; häufig oder in einer wichtigen Situation benutzbar; brauchbar Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nützlich

Where the eye mixes nützlich and nützliche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. nützlich runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against nützliche's 9 (CVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
nützlich
9 ch
nützliche

Look-alike desk: nützlich vs nützliche

A purely visual mix-up. nützlich ([ˈnʏt͡slɪç]) and nützliche ([ˈnʏt͡slɪçə]) 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) - “nützlich” sits inside “nützliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nützlich is recorded at frequency rank #5,635, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʏt͡slɪç]. nützliche is at rank #13,213, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʏt͡slɪçə].

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 18848, this pair ranks #1,914,314 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nützlich vs nützliche

Shared letters: chilntzü. Private to "nützlich": -. Private to "nützliche": e.

"nützlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC  ·  "nützliche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "nützlich" for "nützliche" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnʏt͡slɪç] versus [ˈnʏt͡slɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nützlich" vs "nützliche" - which ranks higher?
"nützlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,635 in our German list, against #13,213 for "nützliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "nützlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nützliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,914,314 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nützlich" and "nützliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nützliche vs nützlicher". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,914,314 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