Which to use
“plötzlich” and “plötzliche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #839
- “plötzlich” frequency rank
- #18,024
- “plötzliche” frequency rank
- 18863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plötzlich | plötzliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unerwartet, überraschend, auf einen Schlag | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs plötzlich |
Where the eye mixes plötzlich and plötzliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: plötzlich vs plötzliche
A purely visual mix-up. plötzlich ([ˈplœt͡slɪç]) and plötzliche ([ˈplœt͡slɪçə]) 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) - “plötzlich” sits inside “plötzliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plötzlich is recorded at frequency rank #839, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈplœt͡slɪç]. plötzliche is at rank #18,024, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈplœt͡slɪçə].
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 18863, this pair ranks #1,914,145 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plötzlich vs plötzliche
Shared letters: chilptzö. Private to "plötzlich": -. Private to "plötzliche": e.
"plötzlich" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC · "plötzliche" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "plötzlich" and "plötzliche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "plötzlich" or "plötzliche"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "plötzlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plötzliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,914,145 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plötzlich" and "plötzliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plötzliche vs plötzlicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,914,145 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.