sämtlichenvssämtlicherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,129
“sämtlichen” frequency rank
#13,247
“sämtlicher” frequency rank
24376
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sämtlichen sämtlicher
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sämtlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sämtlich

Where the eye mixes sämtlichen and sämtlicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. sämtlichen and sämtlicher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
sämtlichen
10 ch
sämtlicher

Look-alike desk: sämtlichen vs sämtlicher

A purely visual mix-up. sämtlichen ([ˈzɛmtlɪçn̩]) and sämtlicher ([ˈzɛmtlɪçɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “sämtlichen” becomes r in “sämtlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sämtlichen is recorded at frequency rank #11,129, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛmtlɪçn̩]. sämtlicher is at rank #13,247, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛmtlɪçɐ].

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 24376, this pair ranks #1,848,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sämtlichen vs sämtlicher

Shared letters: cehilmstä. Private to "sämtlichen": n. Private to "sämtlicher": r.

"sämtlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC  ·  "sämtlicher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sämtlichen" for "sämtlicher" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɛmtlɪçn̩] versus [ˈzɛmtlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "sämtlichen" or "sämtlicher" show up more?
"sämtlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,129 in our German list, against #13,247 for "sämtlicher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sämtlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sämtlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,848,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sämtlichen" and "sämtlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sämtlich vs sämtlicher". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,848,523 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