nutzlosvsnutzloseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,532
“nutzlos” frequency rank
#42,030
“nutzlose” frequency rank
52562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nutzlos nutzlose
Definition ohne Nutzen, keinen oder nur sehr wenig Nutzen bringend, zu nichts zu gebrauchen; ohne die angestrebte Wirkung Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs nutzlos

Where the eye mixes nutzlos and nutzlose

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nutzlos runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against nutzlose's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
nutzlos
8 ch
nutzlose

Why the eye confuses nutzlos with nutzlose

A purely visual mix-up. nutzlos ([ˈnʊt͡sloːs]) and nutzlose ([ˈnʊt͡sˌloːzə]) 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) - “nutzlos” sits inside “nutzlose”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nutzlos is recorded at frequency rank #10,532, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʊt͡sloːs]. nutzlose is at rank #42,030, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnʊt͡sˌloːzə].

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 52562, this pair ranks #1,091,922 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nutzlos vs nutzlose

Shared letters: lnostuz. Private to "nutzlos": -. Private to "nutzlose": e.

"nutzlos" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "nutzlose" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nutzlos ← nnutzlos · ntuzlos · nutlzos · nuttzlos · nutzllos · nutzloss · nutzlso · nutzols
  • nutzlose ← nnutzlose · ntuzlose · nutlzose · nuttzlose · nutzllose · nutzloes · nutzlosse · nutzlsoe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nutzlos" and "nutzlose" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnʊt͡sloːs] versus [ˈnʊt͡sˌloːzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "nutzlos" or "nutzlose"?
"nutzlos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,532 in our German list, against #42,030 for "nutzlose". 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 "nutzlos" and "nutzlose" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nutzlos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nutzlose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,091,922 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nutzlos" and "nutzlose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nutzlose vs nutzlosen". 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 #1,091,922 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