Which to use
“reibungslos” and “reibungslosen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,039
- “reibungslos” frequency rank
- #32,232
- “reibungslosen” frequency rank
- 50271
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reibungslos | reibungslosen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | störungsfrei, ohne Schwierigkeiten | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs reibungslos |
Where the eye mixes reibungslos and reibungslosen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. reibungslos runs 11 letters (CVVCVCCCCVC) against reibungslosen's 13 (CVVCVCCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between reibungslos and reibungslosen
A purely visual mix-up. reibungslos ([ˈʁaɪ̯bʊŋsˌloːs]) and reibungslosen ([ˈʁaɪ̯bʊŋsˌloːzn̩]) 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) - “reibungslos” sits inside “reibungslosen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reibungslos is recorded at frequency rank #18,039, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯bʊŋsˌloːs]. reibungslosen is at rank #32,232, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁaɪ̯bʊŋsˌloːzn̩].
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 50271, this pair ranks #1,180,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reibungslos vs reibungslosen
Shared letters: begilnorsu. Private to "reibungslos": -. Private to "reibungslosen": -.
"reibungslos" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCCCCVC · "reibungslosen" · 13 letters · shape CVVCVCCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reibungslos ← eribungslos · rebiungslos · reibbungslos · reibnugslos · reibugnslos · reibunggslos · reibunglsos · reibungsllos
- reibungslosen ← eribungslosen · rebiungslosen · reibbungslosen · reibnugslosen · reibugnslosen · reibunggslosen · reibunglsosen · reibungsllosen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "reibungslos" and "reibungslosen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "reibungslos" or "reibungslosen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "reibungslos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reibungslosen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,180,025 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reibungslos" and "reibungslosen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regungslos vs reibungslos". 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 #1,180,025 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.