prinzipiellvsprinzipielleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“prinzipiell” and “prinzipielle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,707
“prinzipiell” frequency rank
#49,170
“prinzipielle” frequency rank
55877
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prinzipiell prinzipielle
Definition auf der Grundlage eines Prinzips Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs prinzipiell

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prinzipiell and prinzipielle apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
prinzipiell
12 ch
prinzipielle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. prinzipiell ([pʁɪnt͡siˈpi̯ɛl]) and prinzipielle ([pʁɪnt͡siˈpi̯ɛlə]) 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) - “prinzipiell” sits inside “prinzipielle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prinzipiell is recorded at frequency rank #6,707, classified as anadj, pronounced [pʁɪnt͡siˈpi̯ɛl]. prinzipielle is at rank #49,170, tagged as anadj, pronounced [pʁɪnt͡siˈpi̯ɛlə].

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 55877, this pair ranks #962,265 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of prinzipiell vs prinzipielle

Shared letters: eilnprz. Private to "prinzipiell": -. Private to "prinzipielle": -.

"prinzipiell" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCVCVVCC  ·  "prinzipielle" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • prinzipiellpirnzipiell · pprinzipiell · prinizpiell · prinnzipiell · prinziipell · prinzipeill · prinzipiel · prinzipilel
  • prinzipiellepirnzipielle · pprinzipielle · prinizpielle · prinnzipielle · prinziipelle · prinzipeille · prinzipiele · prinzipielel

Frequency comparison

prinzipiell#6,707
prinzipielle#49,170

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prinzipiell" and "prinzipielle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([pʁɪnt͡siˈpi̯ɛl] versus [pʁɪnt͡siˈpi̯ɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "prinzipiell" or "prinzipielle"?
"prinzipiell" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,707 in our German list, against #49,170 for "prinzipielle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prinzipiell vs prinzipielle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “prinzipiell” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list