Which to use
“schreckliche” and “schrecklicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,962
- “schreckliche” frequency rank
- #27,478
- “schrecklicher” frequency rank
- 39440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schreckliche | schrecklicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schrecklich | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schrecklich |
Where the eye mixes schreckliche and schrecklicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. schreckliche runs 12 letters (CCCCVCCCVCCV) against schrecklicher's 13 (CCCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses schreckliche with schrecklicher
A purely visual mix-up. schreckliche ([ˈʃʁɛklɪçə]) and schrecklicher ([ˈʃʁɛklɪçɐ]) 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) - “schreckliche” sits inside “schrecklicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schreckliche is recorded at frequency rank #11,962, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃʁɛklɪçə]. schrecklicher is at rank #27,478, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃʁɛklɪçɐ].
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 39440, this pair ranks #1,536,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schreckliche vs schrecklicher
Shared letters: cehiklrs. Private to "schreckliche": -. Private to "schrecklicher": -.
"schreckliche" · 12 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCCV · "schrecklicher" · 13 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schreckliche ← cshreckliche · scchreckliche · scherckliche · schhreckliche · schrcekliche · schrecckliche · schreckilche · schreckkliche
- schrecklicher ← cshrecklicher · scchrecklicher · schercklicher · schhrecklicher · schrceklicher · schreccklicher · schreckilcher · schreckklicher
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schreckliche" and "schrecklicher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schreckliche" vs "schrecklicher" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "schreckliche" and "schrecklicher" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schreckliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schrecklicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,536,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schreckliche" and "schrecklicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schrecklicher vs schreckliches". 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 #1,536,755 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.