unterschiedlichvsunterschiedlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,087
“unterschiedlich” frequency rank
#2,221
“unterschiedlichen” frequency rank
5308
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterschiedlich unterschiedlichen
Definition nach verschiedener Art, auf verschiedene Weise Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs unterschiedlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unterschiedlich and unterschiedlichen apart are highlighted. They share 15 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

15 ch
unterschiedlich
17 ch
unterschiedlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. unterschiedlich ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪç]) and unterschiedlichen ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩]) 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) - “unterschiedlich” sits inside “unterschiedlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterschiedlich is recorded at frequency rank #3,087, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪç]. unterschiedlichen is at rank #2,221, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩].

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 5308, this pair ranks #1,995,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unterschiedlich vs unterschiedlichen

Shared letters: cdehilnrstu. Private to "unterschiedlich": -. Private to "unterschiedlichen": -.

"unterschiedlich" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCC  ·  "unterschiedlichen" · 17 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterschiedlichnuterschiedlich · unetrschiedlich · unnterschiedlich · untercshiedlich · unterrschiedlich · unterscchiedlich · unterscheidlich · unterschhiedlich
  • unterschiedlichennuterschiedlichen · unetrschiedlichen · unnterschiedlichen · untercshiedlichen · unterrschiedlichen · unterscchiedlichen · unterscheidlichen · unterschhiedlichen

Frequency comparison

unterschiedlich#3,087
unterschiedlichen#2,221

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unterschiedlich" and "unterschiedlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪç] versus [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterschiedlich" or "unterschiedlichen"?
"unterschiedlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,221 in our German list, against #3,087 for "unterschiedlich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering unterschiedlich vs unterschiedlichen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list