Which to use
“nützlich” and “nützlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,635
- “nützlich” frequency rank
- #31,717
- “nützlicher” frequency rank
- 37352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nützlich | nützlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Eigenschaft, von Nutzen zu sein; häufig oder in einer wichtigen Situation benutzbar; brauchbar | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs nützlich |
Where the eye mixes nützlich and nützlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. nützlich runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against nützlicher's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nützlich with nützlicher
A purely visual mix-up. nützlich ([ˈnʏt͡slɪç]) and nützlicher ([ˈnʏt͡slɪçɐ]) 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) - “nützlich” sits inside “nützlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37352, 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]. nützlicher is at rank #31,717, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʏt͡slɪçɐ].
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 37352, this pair ranks #1,592,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nützlich vs nützlicher
Shared letters: chilntzü. Private to "nützlich": -. Private to "nützlicher": er.
"nützlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "nützlicher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "nützlich" and "nützlicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "nützlich" vs "nützlicher" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "nützlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nützlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,592,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nützlich" and "nützlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nützlicher vs nützliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,592,498 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.