nützlichevsnützlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,213
“nützliche” frequency rank
#23,648
“nützlichen” frequency rank
36861
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nützliche nützlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nützlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nützlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nützliche and nützlichen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
nützliche
10 ch
nützlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. nützliche ([ˈnʏt͡slɪçə]) and nützlichen ([ˈnʏt͡slɪçn̩]) 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) - “nützliche” sits inside “nützlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nützliche is recorded at frequency rank #13,213, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʏt͡slɪçə]. nützlichen is at rank #23,648, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʏt͡slɪçn̩].

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 36861, this pair ranks #1,604,864 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nützliche vs nützlichen

Shared letters: cehilntzü. Private to "nützliche": -. Private to "nützlichen": -.

"nützliche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV  ·  "nützlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

nützliche#13,213
nützlichen#23,648

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nützliche" and "nützlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnʏt͡slɪçə] versus [ˈnʏt͡slɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nützliche" or "nützlichen"?
"nützliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,213 in our German list, against #23,648 for "nützlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nützliche vs nützlichen

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 “nützliche” 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