ordentlichvsordentlicherWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,850
“ordentlich” frequency rank
#16,793
“ordentlicher” frequency rank
19643
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ordentlich ordentlicher
Definition aufgeräumt und geordnet Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ordentlich

Where the eye mixes ordentlich and ordentlicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. ordentlich runs 10 letters (VCCVCCCVCC) against ordentlicher's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
ordentlich
12 ch
ordentlicher

Look-alike desk: ordentlich vs ordentlicher

A purely visual mix-up. ordentlich ([ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪç]) and ordentlicher ([ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪçɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “ordentlich” sits inside “ordentlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ordentlich is recorded at frequency rank #2,850, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪç]. ordentlicher is at rank #16,793, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪçɐ].

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 19643, this pair ranks #1,906,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ordentlich vs ordentlicher

Shared letters: cdehilnort. Private to "ordentlich": -. Private to "ordentlicher": -.

"ordentlich" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCC  ·  "ordentlicher" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ordentlich ← odrentlich · orddentlich · ordenltich · ordenntlich · ordentilch · ordentlcih · ordentlicch · ordentlichh
  • ordentlicher ← odrentlicher · orddentlicher · ordenlticher · ordenntlicher · ordentilcher · ordentlciher · ordentliccher · ordentlicehr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ordentlich" and "ordentlicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪç] versus [ˈɔʁdn̩tlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ordentlich" or "ordentlicher"?
"ordentlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,850 in our German list, against #16,793 for "ordentlicher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ordentlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ordentlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,906,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ordentlich" and "ordentlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ordentlicher vs ordentliches". 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 #1,906,162 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