südlichvssüdlichenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,541
“südlich” frequency rank
#6,012
“südlichen” frequency rank
11553
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature südlich südlichen
Definition auf den Süden, auf Süd bezogen, in der Richtung des Südens Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs südlich

Where the eye mixes südlich and südlichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. südlich runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against südlichen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
südlich
9 ch
südlichen

Look-alike desk: südlich vs südlichen

A purely visual mix-up. südlich ([ˈzyːtlɪç]) and südlichen ([ˈzyːtlɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “südlich” sits inside “südlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

südlich is recorded at frequency rank #5,541, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzyːtlɪç]. südlichen is at rank #6,012, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzyːtlɪçn̩].

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 11553, this pair ranks #1,969,263 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of südlich vs südlichen

Shared letters: cdhilsü. Private to "südlich": -. Private to "südlichen": en.

"südlich" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "südlichen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "südlich" and "südlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzyːtlɪç] versus [ˈzyːtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "südlich" or "südlichen"?
"südlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,541 in our German list, against #6,012 for "südlichen". 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 "südlich" and "südlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "südlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "südlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,969,263 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "südlich" and "südlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "südlichen vs südlicher". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,969,263 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