subtilenvssubtilerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#44,262
“subtilen” frequency rank
#49,283
“subtiler” frequency rank
93545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature subtilen subtiler
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs subtil Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs subtil

Where the eye mixes subtilen and subtiler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
subtilen
8 ch
subtiler

Visual trap between subtilen and subtiler

A purely visual mix-up. subtilen ([zʊpˈtiːlən]) and subtiler ([zʊpˈtiːlɐ]) 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 “subtilen” becomes r in “subtiler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 93545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

subtilen is recorded at frequency rank #44,262, classified as anadj, pronounced [zʊpˈtiːlən]. subtiler is at rank #49,283, tagged as anadj, pronounced [zʊpˈtiːlɐ].

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 93545, this pair ranks #22,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of subtilen vs subtiler

Shared letters: beilstu. Private to "subtilen": n. Private to "subtiler": r.

"subtilen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "subtiler" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • subtilensbutilen · ssubtilen · subbtilen · subitlen · subtieln · subtilenn · subtillen · subtilne
  • subtilersbutiler · ssubtiler · subbtiler · subitler · subtielr · subtilerr · subtiller · subtilre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "subtilen" for "subtiler" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zʊpˈtiːlən] versus [zʊpˈtiːlɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "subtilen" or "subtiler"?
"subtilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,262 in our German list, against #49,283 for "subtiler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "subtilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "subtiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #22,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "subtilen" and "subtiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs subtilen". 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 #22,133 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