persönlichvspersönlichesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,305
“persönlich” frequency rank
#6,577
“persönliches” frequency rank
7882
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature persönlich persönliches
Definition von einer Person (direkt) stammend Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs persönlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set persönlich and persönliches apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
persönlich
12 ch
persönliches

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. persönlich ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪç]) and persönliches ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçəs]) 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) - “persönlich” sits inside “persönliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

persönlich is recorded at frequency rank #1,305, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪç]. persönliches is at rank #6,577, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçəs].

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 7882, this pair ranks #1,986,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of persönlich vs persönliches

Shared letters: cehilnprsö. Private to "persönlich": -. Private to "persönliches": -.

"persönlich" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "persönliches" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

persönlich#1,305
persönliches#6,577

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "persönlich" and "persönliches" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪç] versus [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "persönlich" or "persönliches"?
"persönlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,305 in our German list, against #6,577 for "persönliches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering persönlich vs persönliches

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 “persönlich” 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