verbindlichvsverbindlicheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,506
“verbindlich” frequency rank
#18,420
“verbindliche” frequency rank
33926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbindlich verbindliche
Definition in der Begegnung mit anderen Menschen, Dingen, Ereignissen positiv eingestellt; entgegenkommend, freundlich Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verbindlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verbindlich and verbindliche apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
verbindlich
12 ch
verbindliche

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verbindlich ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪntlɪç]) and verbindliche ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪntlɪçə]) 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) - “verbindlich” sits inside “verbindliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbindlich is recorded at frequency rank #15,506, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪntlɪç]. verbindliche is at rank #18,420, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪntlɪçə].

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 33926, this pair ranks #1,674,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of verbindlich vs verbindliche

Shared letters: bcdehilnrv. Private to "verbindlich": -. Private to "verbindliche": -.

"verbindlich" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCC  ·  "verbindliche" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbindlichevrbindlich · vebrindlich · verbbindlich · verbidnlich · verbinddlich · verbindilch · verbindlcih · verbindlicch
  • verbindlicheevrbindliche · vebrindliche · verbbindliche · verbidnliche · verbinddliche · verbindilche · verbindlcihe · verbindlicche

Frequency comparison

verbindlich#15,506
verbindliche#18,420

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verbindlich" and "verbindliche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈbɪntlɪç] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈbɪntlɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verbindlich" or "verbindliche"?
"verbindlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,506 in our German list, against #18,420 for "verbindliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verbindlich vs verbindliche

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verbindlich” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list