WiderspruchvsWidersprücheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,086
“Widerspruch” frequency rank
#14,464
“Widersprüche” frequency rank
18550
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Widerspruch Widersprüche
Definition logische Unvereinbarkeit mehrerer gegensätzlicher Informationen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Widerspruch

Where the eye mixes Widerspruch and Widersprüche

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

11 ch
Widerspruch
12 ch
Widersprüche

Visual trap between Widerspruch and Widersprüche

A purely visual mix-up. Widerspruch ([ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʊx]) and Widersprüche ([ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçə]) 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 18550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Widerspruch is recorded at frequency rank #4,086, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʊx]. Widersprüche is at rank #14,464, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçə].

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 18550, this pair ranks #1,917,145 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Widerspruch vs Widersprüche

Shared letters: cdehiprsw. Private to "Widerspruch": u. Private to "Widersprüche": ü.

"Widerspruch" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCC  ·  "Widersprüche" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Widerspruch ← iwderspruch · wdierspruch · widderspruch · widerpsruch · widerrspruch · widersppruch · widersprcuh · widersprruch

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Widerspruch" and "Widersprüche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʊx] versus [ˈviːdɐˌʃpʁʏçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Widerspruch" or "Widersprüche" show up more?
"Widerspruch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,086 in our German list, against #14,464 for "Widersprüche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Widerspruch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Widersprüche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,917,145 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Widerspruch" and "Widersprüche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Widersprüche vs Widersprüchen". 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 #1,917,145 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