Which to use
“radikal” is an adjective and “Radikale” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,074
- “radikal” frequency rank
- #8,445
- “Radikale” frequency rank
- 17519
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | radikal | Radikale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Denken und oder Handeln in besonderem Maße von der Norm abweichend | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Radikal |
Where the eye mixes radikal and Radikale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. radikal runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against Radikale's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses radikal with Radikale
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: radikal is [ʁadiˈkaːl] while Radikale is [ʁadiˈkaːlə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “radikal” sits inside “Radikale”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17519, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
radikal is recorded at frequency rank #9,074, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁadiˈkaːl]. Radikale is at rank #8,445, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʁadiˈkaːlə].
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 17519, this pair ranks #1,926,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of radikal vs Radikale
Shared letters: adiklr. Private to "radikal": -. Private to "Radikale": e.
"radikal" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "Radikale" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "radikal" for "Radikale" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "radikal" or "Radikale" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "radikal" and "Radikale" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "radikal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Radikale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,926,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "radikal" and "Radikale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "radial vs radikal". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,926,669 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.