Which to use
“unerklärlich” and “unerklärliche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,886
- “unerklärlich” frequency rank
- #47,065
- “unerklärliche” frequency rank
- 89951
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unerklärlich | unerklärliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht erklärbar, nicht nachvollziehbar | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unerklärlich |
Where the eye mixes unerklärlich and unerklärliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. unerklärlich runs 12 letters (VCVCCCVCCVCC) against unerklärliche's 13 (VCVCCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses unerklärlich with unerklärliche
A purely visual mix-up. unerklärlich ([ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪç]) and unerklärliche ([ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪçə]) 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) - “unerklärlich” sits inside “unerklärliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unerklärlich is recorded at frequency rank #42,886, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪç]. unerklärliche is at rank #47,065, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪçə].
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 89951, this pair ranks #51,922 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of unerklärlich vs unerklärliche
Shared letters: cehiklnruä. Private to "unerklärlich": -. Private to "unerklärliche": -.
"unerklärlich" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVCC · "unerklärliche" · 13 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unerklärlich" and "unerklärliche" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "unerklärlich" or "unerklärliche" 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 "unerklärlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unerklärliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,922 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unerklärlich" and "unerklärliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unerklärliche vs unerklärlichen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #51,922 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.