obligatorischevsobligatorischenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,840
“obligatorische” frequency rank
#23,255
“obligatorischen” frequency rank
46095
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature obligatorische obligatorischen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs obligatorisch Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs obligatorisch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obligatorische and obligatorischen apart are highlighted. They share 14 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

14 ch
obligatorische
15 ch
obligatorischen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. obligatorische ([ɔbliɡaˈtoːʁɪʃə]) and obligatorischen ([ɔbliɡaˈtoːʁɪʃn̩]) 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) - “obligatorische” sits inside “obligatorischen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

obligatorische is recorded at frequency rank #22,840, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɔbliɡaˈtoːʁɪʃə]. obligatorischen is at rank #23,255, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɔbliɡaˈtoːʁɪʃn̩].

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 46095, this pair ranks #1,330,821 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of obligatorische vs obligatorischen

Shared letters: abceghilorst. Private to "obligatorische": -. Private to "obligatorischen": n.

"obligatorische" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCVCCCV  ·  "obligatorischen" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • obligatorischeboligatorische · obbligatorische · obilgatorische · oblgiatorische · obliagtorische · obligaotrische · obligatoirsche · obligatoricshe
  • obligatorischenboligatorischen · obbligatorischen · obilgatorischen · oblgiatorischen · obliagtorischen · obligaotrischen · obligatoirschen · obligatoricshen

Frequency comparison

obligatorische#22,840
obligatorischen#23,255

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "obligatorische" and "obligatorischen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɔbliɡaˈtoːʁɪʃə] versus [ɔbliɡaˈtoːʁɪʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "obligatorische" or "obligatorischen"?
"obligatorische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,840 in our German list, against #23,255 for "obligatorischen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering obligatorische vs obligatorischen

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 “obligatorische” 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