unterschiedlichemvsunterschiedlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,327
“unterschiedlichem” frequency rank
#2,221
“unterschiedlichen” frequency rank
33548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterschiedlichem unterschiedlichen
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unterschiedlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs unterschiedlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unterschiedlichem and unterschiedlichen apart are highlighted. They share 16 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

17 ch
unterschiedlichem
17 ch
unterschiedlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. unterschiedlichem ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçm̩]) 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 a single letter - m in “unterschiedlichem” becomes n in “unterschiedlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterschiedlichem is recorded at frequency rank #31,327, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçm̩]. 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 33548, this pair ranks #1,683,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unterschiedlichem vs unterschiedlichen

Shared letters: cdehilnrstu. Private to "unterschiedlichem": m. Private to "unterschiedlichen": -.

"unterschiedlichem" · 17 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCVC  ·  "unterschiedlichen" · 17 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterschiedlichemnuterschiedlichem · unetrschiedlichem · unnterschiedlichem · untercshiedlichem · unterrschiedlichem · unterscchiedlichem · unterscheidlichem · unterschhiedlichem
  • unterschiedlichennuterschiedlichen · unetrschiedlichen · unnterschiedlichen · untercshiedlichen · unterrschiedlichen · unterscchiedlichen · unterscheidlichen · unterschhiedlichen

Frequency comparison

unterschiedlichem#31,327
unterschiedlichen#2,221

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unterschiedlichem" and "unterschiedlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçm̩] versus [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterschiedlichem" or "unterschiedlichen"?
"unterschiedlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,221 in our German list, against #31,327 for "unterschiedlichem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering unterschiedlichem 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