Which to use
“populär” and “populäre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,308
- “populär” frequency rank
- #18,661
- “populäre” frequency rank
- 29969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | populär | populäre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in der Öffentlichkeit bekannt und beliebt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs populär |
Where the eye mixes populär and populäre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. populär runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against populäre's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses populär with populäre
A purely visual mix-up. populär ([popuˈlɛːɐ̯]) and populäre ([popuˈlɛːʁə]) 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) - “populär” sits inside “populäre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
populär is recorded at frequency rank #11,308, classified as anadj, pronounced [popuˈlɛːɐ̯]. populäre is at rank #18,661, tagged as anadj, pronounced [popuˈlɛːʁə].
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 29969, this pair ranks #1,756,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of populär vs populäre
Shared letters: lopruä. Private to "populär": -. Private to "populäre": e.
"populär" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "populäre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "populär" and "populäre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "populär" or "populäre"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "populär" and "populäre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "populär" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "populäre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,756,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "populär" and "populäre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Popstar vs populär". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,756,813 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.