Which to use
“plötzlich” and “plötzlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #839
- “plötzlich” frequency rank
- #16,801
- “plötzlichen” frequency rank
- 17640
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plötzlich | plötzlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unerwartet, überraschend, auf einen Schlag | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs plötzlich |
Where the eye mixes plötzlich and plötzlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between plötzlich and plötzlichen
A purely visual mix-up. plötzlich ([ˈplœt͡slɪç]) and plötzlichen ([ˈplœt͡slɪçn̩]) 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) - “plötzlich” sits inside “plötzlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plötzlich is recorded at frequency rank #839, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈplœt͡slɪç]. plötzlichen is at rank #16,801, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈplœt͡slɪçn̩].
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 17640, this pair ranks #1,925,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plötzlich vs plötzlichen
Shared letters: chilptzö. Private to "plötzlich": -. Private to "plötzlichen": en.
"plötzlich" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC · "plötzlichen" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "plötzlich" and "plötzlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "plötzlich" or "plötzlichen" show up more?
What to do next
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 "plötzlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,925,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plötzlich" and "plötzlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plötzlichen vs plötzlicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,925,602 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.