tödlichvstödlicherTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,864
“tödlich” frequency rank
#20,095
“tödlicher” frequency rank
26959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tödlich tödlicher
Definition zum Tod führend; den Tod zur Folge habend Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tödlich

Where the eye mixes tödlich and tödlicher

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

7 ch
tödlich
9 ch
tödlicher

Look-alike desk: tödlich vs tödlicher

A purely visual mix-up. tödlich ([ˈtøːtlɪç]) and tödlicher ([ˈtøːtlɪçɐ]) 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 “tödlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26959, 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]. tödlicher is at rank #20,095, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtøːtlɪçɐ].

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 26959, this pair ranks #1,809,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tödlich vs tödlicher

Shared letters: cdhiltö. Private to "tödlich": -. Private to "tödlicher": er.

"tödlich" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "tödlicher" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tödlich" and "tödlicher" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtøːtlɪç] versus [ˈtøːtlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tödlich" or "tödlicher"?
"tödlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,864 in our German list, against #20,095 for "tödlicher". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tödlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tödlicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,809,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tödlich" and "tödlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tödlicher vs tödliches". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,809,557 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