östlichvsöstlicheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,495
“östlich” frequency rank
#18,777
“östliche” frequency rank
27272
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature östlich östliche
Definition im Osten (von etwas) befindlich Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs östlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set östlich and östliche apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
östlich
8 ch
östliche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. östlich ([ˈœstlɪç]) and östliche ([ˈœstlɪçə]) 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) - “östlich” sits inside “östliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

östlich is recorded at frequency rank #8,495, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈœstlɪç]. östliche is at rank #18,777, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈœstlɪçə].

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 27272, this pair ranks #1,804,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of östlich vs östliche

Shared letters: chilstö. Private to "östlich": -. Private to "östliche": e.

"östlich" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "östliche" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

östlich#8,495
östliche#18,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "östlich" and "östliche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈœstlɪç] versus [ˈœstlɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "östlich" or "östliche"?
"östlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,495 in our German list, against #18,777 for "östliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering östlich vs östliche

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 “östlich” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list