Which to use
“unmöglich” and “unmöglichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,829
- “unmöglich” frequency rank
- #40,266
- “unmöglichen” frequency rank
- 42095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unmöglich | unmöglichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht machbar, undurchführbar | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unmöglich |
Where the eye mixes unmöglich and unmöglichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. unmöglich runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCC) against unmöglichen's 11 (VCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between unmöglich and unmöglichen
A purely visual mix-up. unmöglich ([ˈʊnmøːklɪç]) and unmöglichen ([ˈʊnmøːklɪçn̩]) 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) - “unmöglich” sits inside “unmöglichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unmöglich is recorded at frequency rank #1,829, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnmøːklɪç]. unmöglichen is at rank #40,266, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnmøːklɪçn̩].
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 42095, this pair ranks #1,459,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of unmöglich vs unmöglichen
Shared letters: cghilmnuö. Private to "unmöglich": -. Private to "unmöglichen": e.
"unmöglich" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "unmöglichen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unmöglich" and "unmöglichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "unmöglich" vs "unmöglichen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "unmöglich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unmöglichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,459,702 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unmöglich" and "unmöglichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unmöglichen vs unmögliches". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,459,702 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.