sportlichevssportlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,235
“sportliche” frequency rank
#9,268
“sportlichen” frequency rank
15503
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sportliche sportlichen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sportlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sportlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sportliche and sportlichen apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
sportliche
11 ch
sportlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sportliche ([ˈʃpɔʁtlɪçə]) and sportlichen ([ˈʃpɔʁtlɪçn̩]) 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) - “sportliche” sits inside “sportlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sportliche is recorded at frequency rank #6,235, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɔʁtlɪçə]. sportlichen is at rank #9,268, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɔʁtlɪçn̩].

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 15503, this pair ranks #1,943,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sportliche vs sportlichen

Shared letters: cehiloprst. Private to "sportliche": -. Private to "sportlichen": n.

"sportliche" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCV  ·  "sportlichen" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sportlichepsortliche · soprtliche · sporltiche · sporrtliche · sportilche · sportlcihe · sportlicche · sportliceh
  • sportlichenpsortlichen · soprtlichen · sporltichen · sporrtlichen · sportilchen · sportlcihen · sportlicchen · sportlicehn

Frequency comparison

sportliche#6,235
sportlichen#9,268

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sportliche" and "sportlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpɔʁtlɪçə] versus [ˈʃpɔʁtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sportliche" or "sportlichen"?
"sportliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,235 in our German list, against #9,268 for "sportlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sportliche vs sportlichen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sportliche” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list