Which to use
“östliche” and “östlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,777
- “östliche” frequency rank
- #6,999
- “östlichen” frequency rank
- 25776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | östliche | östlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs östlich | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs östlich |
Where the eye mixes östliche and östlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. östliche runs 8 letters (VCCCVCCV) against östlichen's 9 (VCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: östliche vs östlichen
A purely visual mix-up. östliche ([ˈœstlɪçə]) and östlichen ([ˈœstlɪçn̩]) 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) - “östliche” sits inside “östlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
östliche is recorded at frequency rank #18,777, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈœstlɪçə]. östlichen is at rank #6,999, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈœstlɪçn̩].
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 25776, this pair ranks #1,828,132 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of östliche vs östlichen
Shared letters: cehilstö. Private to "östliche": -. Private to "östlichen": n.
"östliche" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV · "östlichen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "östliche" and "östlichen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "östliche" or "östlichen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "östliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "östlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,828,132 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "östliche" and "östlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "östliche vs östlicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,828,132 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.