Which to use
“tödlich” and “tödlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,864
- “tödlich” frequency rank
- #11,339
- “tödlichen” frequency rank
- 18203
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tödlich | tödlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zum Tod führend; den Tod zur Folge habend | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tödlich |
Where the eye mixes tödlich and tödlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. tödlich runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against tödlichen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tödlich vs tödlichen
A purely visual mix-up. tödlich ([ˈtøːtlɪç]) and tödlichen ([ˈtøːtlɪçn̩]) 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) - “tödlich” sits inside “tödlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tödlich is recorded at frequency rank #6,864, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtøːtlɪç]. tödlichen is at rank #11,339, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtøːtlɪçn̩].
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 18203, this pair ranks #1,920,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tödlich vs tödlichen
Shared letters: cdhiltö. Private to "tödlich": -. Private to "tödlichen": en.
"tödlich" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "tödlichen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tödlich" and "tödlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "tödlich" or "tödlichen" show up more?
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 "tödlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tödlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,920,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tödlich" and "tödlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tödlichen vs tödliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,920,447 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.