Which to use
“plötzliche” and “plötzlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,024
- “plötzliche” frequency rank
- #16,801
- “plötzlichen” frequency rank
- 34825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plötzliche | plötzlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs plötzlich | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs plötzlich |
Where the eye mixes plötzliche and plötzlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between plötzliche and plötzlichen
A purely visual mix-up. plötzliche ([ˈplœt͡slɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “plötzliche” sits inside “plötzlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plötzliche is recorded at frequency rank #18,024, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈplœt͡slɪçə]. 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 34825, this pair ranks #1,654,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plötzliche vs plötzlichen
Shared letters: cehilptzö. Private to "plötzliche": -. Private to "plötzlichen": n.
"plötzliche" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCV · "plötzlichen" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plötzliche" for "plötzlichen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "plötzliche" or "plötzlichen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "plötzliche" 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 #1,654,423 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plötzliche" and "plötzlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plötzliche vs plötzlicher". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,654,423 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.