persönlichevspersönlichemWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,035
“persönliche” frequency rank
#30,716
“persönlichem” frequency rank
32751
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature persönliche persönlichem
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs persönlich Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs persönlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set persönliche and persönlichem apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
persönliche
12 ch
persönlichem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. persönliche ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçə]) and persönlichem ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçm̩]) 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) - “persönliche” sits inside “persönlichem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

persönliche is recorded at frequency rank #2,035, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçə]. persönlichem is at rank #30,716, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçm̩].

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 32751, this pair ranks #1,700,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of persönliche vs persönlichem

Shared letters: cehilnprsö. Private to "persönliche": -. Private to "persönlichem": m.

"persönliche" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV  ·  "persönlichem" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

persönliche#2,035
persönlichem#30,716

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "persönliche" and "persönlichem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçə] versus [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçm̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "persönliche" or "persönlichem"?
"persönliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,035 in our German list, against #30,716 for "persönlichem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering persönliche vs persönlichem

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 “persönliche” 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