Which to use
“persönlichen” and “persönlicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,214
- “persönlichen” frequency rank
- #6,100
- “persönlicher” frequency rank
- 8314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | persönlichen | persönlicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs persönlich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs persönlich |
Where the eye mixes persönlichen and persönlicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. persönlichen and persönlicher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses persönlichen with persönlicher
A purely visual mix-up. persönlichen ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçn̩]) and persönlicher ([pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “persönlichen” becomes r in “persönlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
persönlichen is recorded at frequency rank #2,214, classified as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçn̩]. persönlicher is at rank #6,100, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pɛʁˈzøːnlɪçɐ].
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 8314, this pair ranks #1,984,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of persönlichen vs persönlicher
Shared letters: cehilnprsö. Private to "persönlichen": -. Private to "persönlicher": -.
"persönlichen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC · "persönlicher" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "persönlichen" for "persönlicher" ever safe?
Which is more common, "persönlichen" or "persönlicher"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "persönlichen" and "persönlicher" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "persönlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "persönlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "persönlichen" and "persönlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "persönlichem vs persönlicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,984,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.