schrecklichenvsschrecklichesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,011
“schrecklichen” frequency rank
#23,698
“schreckliches” frequency rank
36709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schrecklichen schreckliches
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schrecklich Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schrecklich

Where the eye mixes schrecklichen and schreckliches

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. schrecklichen and schreckliches follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

13 ch
schrecklichen
13 ch
schreckliches

Why the eye confuses schrecklichen with schreckliches

A purely visual mix-up. schrecklichen ([ˈʃʁɛklɪçn̩]) and schreckliches ([ˈʃʁɛklɪçəs]) 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 “schrecklichen” becomes s in “schreckliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schrecklichen is recorded at frequency rank #13,011, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃʁɛklɪçn̩]. schreckliches is at rank #23,698, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃʁɛklɪçəs].

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 36709, this pair ranks #1,608,680 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schrecklichen vs schreckliches

Shared letters: cehiklrs. Private to "schrecklichen": n. Private to "schreckliches": -.

"schrecklichen" · 13 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCCVC  ·  "schreckliches" · 13 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schrecklichen ← cshrecklichen · scchrecklichen · schercklichen · schhrecklichen · schrceklichen · schreccklichen · schreckilchen · schreckklichen
  • schreckliches ← cshreckliches · scchreckliches · scherckliches · schhreckliches · schrcekliches · schrecckliches · schreckilches · schreckkliches

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schrecklichen" and "schreckliches" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃʁɛklɪçn̩] versus [ˈʃʁɛklɪçəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schrecklichen" vs "schreckliches" - which ranks higher?
"schrecklichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,011 in our German list, against #23,698 for "schreckliches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "schrecklichen" and "schreckliches" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schrecklichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schreckliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,608,680 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schrecklichen" and "schreckliches" 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 #1,608,680 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