Which to use
“westlich” and “westlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,695
- “westlich” frequency rank
- #3,410
- “westlichen” frequency rank
- 11105
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | westlich | westlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf den Westen, auf West bezogen, in der Richtung des Westens | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs westlich |
Where the eye mixes westlich and westlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses westlich with westlichen
A purely visual mix-up. westlich ([ˈvɛstlɪç]) and westlichen ([ˈvɛstlɪçn̩]) 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) - “westlich” sits inside “westlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
westlich is recorded at frequency rank #7,695, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɛstlɪç]. westlichen is at rank #3,410, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɛstlɪçn̩].
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 11105, this pair ranks #1,971,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of westlich vs westlichen
Shared letters: cehilstw. Private to "westlich": -. Private to "westlichen": n.
"westlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "westlichen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- westlich ← ewstlich · wesltich · wesstlich · westilch · westlcih · westlicch · westlichh · westlihc
- westlichen ← ewstlichen · wesltichen · wesstlichen · westilchen · westlcihen · westlicchen · westlicehn · westlichenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "westlich" for "westlichen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "westlich" or "westlichen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "westlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "westlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "westlich" and "westlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "westlich vs Wittlich". 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 #1,971,673 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.