obdachlosvsObdachloseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: obdachlos is a adjective, Obdachlose is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“obdachlos” is an adjective and “Obdachlose” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,986
“obdachlos” frequency rank
#14,375
“Obdachlose” frequency rank
41361
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obdachlos Obdachlose
Definition keine Wohnung, Unterkunft habend; auf der Straße lebend weibliche Person ohne festen Wohnsitz

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
obdachlos
10 ch
Obdachlose

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obdachlos is [ˈɔpdaxˌloːs] while Obdachlose is [ˈɔpdaxˌloːzə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “obdachlos” sits inside “Obdachlose”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obdachlos is recorded at frequency rank #26,986, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔpdaxˌloːs]. Obdachlose is at rank #14,375, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔpdaxˌloːzə].

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 41361, this pair ranks #1,481,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obdachlos vs Obdachlose

Shared letters: abcdhlos. Private to "obdachlos": -. Private to "Obdachlose": e.

"obdachlos" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "Obdachlose" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obdachlosbodachlos · obadchlos · obbdachlos · obdacchlos · obdachhlos · obdachllos · obdachloss · obdachlso
  • Obdachlosebodachlose · obadchlose · obbdachlose · obdacchlose · obdachhlose · obdachllose · obdachloes · obdachlosse

Frequency comparison

obdachlos#26,986
Obdachlose#14,375

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obdachlos" and "Obdachlose" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obdachlos" is an adjective and "Obdachlose" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obdachlos" or "Obdachlose"?
"Obdachlose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,375 in our German list, against #26,986 for "obdachlos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obdachlos vs Obdachlose

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “obdachlos”; for a noun, it's “Obdachlose”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obdachlos” 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