widerlichenvswinterlichenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#36,129
“widerlichen” frequency rank
#42,267
“winterlichen” frequency rank
78396
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature widerlichen winterlichen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs widerlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs winterlich

Where the eye mixes widerlichen and winterlichen

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

11 ch
widerlichen
12 ch
winterlichen

Why the eye confuses widerlichen with winterlichen

A purely visual mix-up. widerlichen ([ˈviːdɐlɪçn̩]) and winterlichen ([ˈvɪntɐlɪçn̩]) 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 78396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

widerlichen is recorded at frequency rank #36,129, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈviːdɐlɪçn̩]. winterlichen is at rank #42,267, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪntɐlɪçn̩].

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 78396, this pair ranks #239,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of widerlichen vs winterlichen

Shared letters: cehilnrw. Private to "widerlichen": d. Private to "winterlichen": t.

"widerlichen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC  ·  "winterlichen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • widerlichen ← iwderlichen · wdierlichen · widderlichen · widelrichen · widerilchen · widerlcihen · widerlicchen · widerlicehn
  • winterlichen ← iwnterlichen · winetrlichen · winnterlichen · wintelrichen · winterilchen · winterlcihen · winterlicchen · winterlicehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "widerlichen" and "winterlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈviːdɐlɪçn̩] versus [ˈvɪntɐlɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "widerlichen" or "winterlichen"?
"widerlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,129 in our German list, against #42,267 for "winterlichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "widerlichen" and "winterlichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "widerlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "winterlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #239,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "widerlichen" and "winterlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "widerlichen vs widerlicher". 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 #239,223 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