widerlichvswiderlichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,811
“widerlich” frequency rank
#36,129
“widerlichen” frequency rank
44940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature widerlich widerlichen
Definition sehr unangenehm auf die Sinnesorgane wirkend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs widerlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set widerlich and widerlichen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
widerlich
11 ch
widerlichen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. widerlich ([ˈviːdɐlɪç]) and widerlichen ([ˈviːdɐlɪçn̩]) 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) - “widerlich” sits inside “widerlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

widerlich is recorded at frequency rank #8,811, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈviːdɐlɪç]. widerlichen is at rank #36,129, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈviːdɐlɪçn̩].

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 44940, this pair ranks #1,369,686 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of widerlich vs widerlichen

Shared letters: cdehilrw. Private to "widerlich": -. Private to "widerlichen": n.

"widerlich" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "widerlichen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • widerlichiwderlich · wdierlich · widderlich · widelrich · widerilch · widerlcih · widerlicch · widerlichh
  • widerlicheniwderlichen · wdierlichen · widderlichen · widelrichen · widerilchen · widerlcihen · widerlicchen · widerlicehn

Frequency comparison

widerlich#8,811
widerlichen#36,129

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "widerlich" and "widerlichen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈviːdɐlɪç] versus [ˈviːdɐlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "widerlich" or "widerlichen"?
"widerlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,811 in our German list, against #36,129 for "widerlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering widerlich vs widerlichen

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 “widerlich” 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