tödlichevstödlicherWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,380
“tödliche” frequency rank
#20,095
“tödlicher” frequency rank
30475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tödliche tödlicher
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tödlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tödlich

Where the eye mixes tödliche and tödlicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. tödliche runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against tödlicher's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
tödliche
9 ch
tödlicher

Look-alike desk: tödliche vs tödlicher

A purely visual mix-up. tödliche ([ˈtøːtlɪçə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “tödliche” sits inside “tödlicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tödliche is recorded at frequency rank #10,380, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtøːtlɪçə]. 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 30475, this pair ranks #1,747,109 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tödliche vs tödlicher

Shared letters: cdehiltö. Private to "tödliche": -. Private to "tödlicher": r.

"tödliche" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "tödlicher" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tödliche" for "tödlicher" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtøːtlɪçə] versus [ˈtøːtlɪçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "tödliche" or "tödlicher" show up more?
"tödliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,380 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tödliche" 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 #1,747,109 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tödliche" and "tödlicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tödlicher vs tödliches". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,747,109 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