Which to use
“selbständig” and “selbständige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,170
- “selbständig” frequency rank
- #11,323
- “selbständige” frequency rank
- 21493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selbständig | selbständige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne Hilfe anderer oder Anleitung (auskommend) | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs selbständig |
Where the eye mixes selbständig and selbständige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: selbständig vs selbständige
A purely visual mix-up. selbständig ([ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪç]) and selbständige ([ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪɡə]) 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) - “selbständig” sits inside “selbständige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selbständig is recorded at frequency rank #10,170, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪç]. selbständige is at rank #11,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛlpʃtɛndɪɡə].
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 21493, this pair ranks #1,885,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of selbständig vs selbständige
Shared letters: bdegilnstä. Private to "selbständig": -. Private to "selbständige": -.
"selbständig" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC · "selbständige" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "selbständig" and "selbständige" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "selbständig" or "selbständige"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "selbständig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "selbständige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,885,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selbständig" and "selbständige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selbständige vs selbständiger". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,885,626 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.