täglichvstödlichWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,374
“täglich” frequency rank
#6,864
“tödlich” frequency rank
8238
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature täglich tödlich
Definition jeden Tag wiederkehrend zum Tod führend; den Tod zur Folge habend

Where the eye mixes täglich and tödlich

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. täglich and tödlich follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
täglich
7 ch
tödlich

Look-alike desk: täglich vs tödlich

A purely visual mix-up. täglich ([ˈtɛːklɪç]) and tödlich ([ˈtøːtlɪç]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

täglich is recorded at frequency rank #1,374, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtɛːklɪç]. tödlich is at rank #6,864, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtøːtlɪç].

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 8238, this pair ranks #1,985,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of täglich vs tödlich

Shared letters: chilt. Private to "täglich": gä. Private to "tödlich": dö.

"täglich" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "tödlich" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "täglich" for "tödlich" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɛːklɪç] versus [ˈtøːtlɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "täglich" or "tödlich" show up more?
"täglich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,374 in our German list, against #6,864 for "tödlich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "täglich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tödlich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,985,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "täglich" and "tödlich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tillich vs tödlich". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,985,082 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