obdachlosvsObdachlosenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#26,986
“obdachlos” frequency rank
#15,444
“Obdachlosen” frequency rank
42430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obdachlos Obdachlosen
Definition keine Wohnung, Unterkunft habend; auf der Straße lebend Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Obdachloser

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
obdachlos
11 ch
Obdachlosen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: obdachlos is [ˈɔpdaxˌloːs] while Obdachlosen is [ˈɔpdaxˌloːzn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “obdachlos” sits inside “Obdachlosen”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42430, 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]. Obdachlosen is at rank #15,444, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔpdaxˌloːzn̩].

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 42430, this pair ranks #1,449,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obdachlos vs Obdachlosen

Shared letters: abcdhlos. Private to "obdachlos": -. Private to "Obdachlosen": en.

"obdachlos" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC  ·  "Obdachlosen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obdachlosbodachlos · obadchlos · obbdachlos · obdacchlos · obdachhlos · obdachllos · obdachloss · obdachlso
  • Obdachlosenbodachlosen · obadchlosen · obbdachlosen · obdacchlosen · obdachhlosen · obdachllosen · obdachloesn · obdachlosenn

Frequency comparison

obdachlos#26,986
Obdachlosen#15,444

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obdachlos" and "Obdachlosen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "obdachlos" is an adjective and "Obdachlosen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "obdachlos" or "Obdachlosen"?
"Obdachlosen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,444 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 Obdachlosen

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 “Obdachlosen”.
  • 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