tödlichevstödlichesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#10,380
“tödliche” frequency rank
#40,258
“tödliches” frequency rank
50638
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tödliche tödliches
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tödlich Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs tödlich

Where the eye mixes tödliche and tödliches

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

8 ch
tödliche
9 ch
tödliches

Why the eye confuses tödliche with tödliches

A purely visual mix-up. tödliche ([ˈtøːtlɪçə]) and tödliches ([ˈtøːtlɪçəs]) 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 “tödliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50638, 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]. tödliches is at rank #40,258, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtøːtlɪçəs].

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 50638, this pair ranks #1,166,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tödliche vs tödliches

Shared letters: cdehiltö. Private to "tödliche": -. Private to "tödliches": s.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tödliche" and "tödliches" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtøːtlɪçə] versus [ˈtøːtlɪçəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tödliche" vs "tödliches" - which ranks higher?
"tödliche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,380 in our German list, against #40,258 for "tödliches". 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 "tödliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tödliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,166,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tödliche" and "tödliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tägliches vs tödliches". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,166,157 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