sexuellvssexuelleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,277
“sexuell” frequency rank
#5,308
“sexuelle” frequency rank
13585
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sexuell sexuelle
Definition den Sex, die Sexualität betreffend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sexuell

Where the eye mixes sexuell and sexuelle

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

7 ch
sexuell
8 ch
sexuelle

Look-alike desk: sexuell vs sexuelle

A purely visual mix-up. sexuell ([sɛksuˈɛl]) and sexuelle ([sɛksuˈɛlə]) 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) - “sexuell” sits inside “sexuelle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sexuell is recorded at frequency rank #8,277, classified as anadj, pronounced [sɛksuˈɛl]. sexuelle is at rank #5,308, tagged as anadj, pronounced [sɛksuˈɛlə].

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 13585, this pair ranks #1,957,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sexuell vs sexuelle

Shared letters: elsux. Private to "sexuell": -. Private to "sexuelle": -.

"sexuell" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC  ·  "sexuelle" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sexuell ← esxuell · seuxell · sexeull · sexuel · sexulel · sexxuell · ssexuell · sxeuell
  • sexuelle ← esxuelle · seuxelle · sexeulle · sexuele · sexuelel · sexulele · sexxuelle · ssexuelle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sexuell" for "sexuelle" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([sɛksuˈɛl] versus [sɛksuˈɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sexuell" vs "sexuelle" - which ranks higher?
"sexuelle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,308 in our German list, against #8,277 for "sexuell". 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 "sexuell" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sexuelle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,957,038 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sexuell" and "sexuelle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sexuell vs sexuellem". 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 #1,957,038 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