römischvsrömischeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,266
“römisch” frequency rank
#6,847
“römische” frequency rank
23113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature römisch römische
Definition auf die Stadt Rom bezogen Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Deklination des Adjektivs römisch

Where the eye mixes römisch and römische

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. römisch runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against römische's 8 (CVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
römisch
8 ch
römische

Why the eye confuses römisch with römische

A purely visual mix-up. römisch ([ˈʁøːmɪʃ]) and römische ([ˈʁøːmɪʃə]) 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) - “römisch” sits inside “römische”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

römisch is recorded at frequency rank #16,266, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁøːmɪʃ]. römische is at rank #6,847, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʁøːmɪʃə].

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 23113, this pair ranks #1,865,619 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of römisch vs römische

Shared letters: chimrsö. Private to "römisch": -. Private to "römische": e.

"römisch" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "römische" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "römisch" for "römische" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʁøːmɪʃ] versus [ˈʁøːmɪʃə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "römisch" or "römische"?
"römische" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,847 in our German list, against #16,266 for "römisch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "römisch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "römische" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,865,619 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "römisch" and "römische" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "römisch vs römisches". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,865,619 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list