sympathischevssympathischerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,426
“sympathische” frequency rank
#19,727
“sympathischer” frequency rank
40153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sympathische sympathischer
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sympathisch Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs sympathisch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sympathische and sympathischer apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
sympathische
13 ch
sympathischer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sympathische ([zʏmˈpaːtɪʃə]) and sympathischer ([zʏmˈpaːtɪʃɐ]) 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) - “sympathische” sits inside “sympathischer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sympathische is recorded at frequency rank #20,426, classified as anadj, pronounced [zʏmˈpaːtɪʃə]. sympathischer is at rank #19,727, tagged as anadj, pronounced [zʏmˈpaːtɪʃɐ].

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 40153, this pair ranks #1,516,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sympathische vs sympathischer

Shared letters: acehimpsty. Private to "sympathische": -. Private to "sympathischer": r.

"sympathische" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCCV  ·  "sympathischer" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sympathischesmypathische · ssympathische · symapthische · symmpathische · sympahtische · sympathhische · sympathicshe · sympathiscche
  • sympathischersmypathischer · ssympathischer · symapthischer · symmpathischer · sympahtischer · sympathhischer · sympathicsher · sympathisccher

Frequency comparison

sympathische#20,426
sympathischer#19,727

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sympathische" and "sympathischer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([zʏmˈpaːtɪʃə] versus [zʏmˈpaːtɪʃɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sympathische" or "sympathischer"?
"sympathischer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,727 in our German list, against #20,426 for "sympathische". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sympathische vs sympathischer

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 “sympathische” 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