vertraglichevsvertraulichTell them apart

Which to use

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

#32,839
“vertragliche” frequency rank
#16,589
“vertraulich” frequency rank
49428
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vertragliche vertraulich
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vertraglich für einen eingeschränkten Empfängerkreis vorgesehen; nicht für Fremde bestimmt

Where the eye mixes vertragliche and vertraulich

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vertragliche runs 12 letters (CVCCCVCCVCCV) against vertraulich's 11 (CVCCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
vertragliche
11 ch
vertraulich

Why the eye confuses vertragliche with vertraulich

A purely visual mix-up. vertragliche ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːklɪçə]) and vertraulich ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯lɪç]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vertragliche is recorded at frequency rank #32,839, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːklɪçə]. vertraulich is at rank #16,589, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯lɪç].

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 49428, this pair ranks #1,211,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vertragliche vs vertraulich

Shared letters: acehilrtv. Private to "vertragliche": g. Private to "vertraulich": u.

"vertragliche" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCV  ·  "vertraulich" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vertragliche ← evrtragliche · verrtagliche · verrtragliche · vertargliche · vertraggliche · vertragilche · vertraglcihe · vertraglicche
  • vertraulich ← evrtraulich · verrtaulich · verrtraulich · vertarulich · vertraluich · vertrauilch · vertraulcih · vertraulicch

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vertragliche" and "vertraulich" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaːklɪçə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈtʁaʊ̯lɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vertragliche" or "vertraulich"?
"vertraulich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,589 in our German list, against #32,839 for "vertragliche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "vertragliche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vertraulich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,211,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vertragliche" and "vertraulich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vertragliche vs vertraglichen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,211,882 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list