Which to use
“wirklich” and “wirklicher” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #169
- “wirklich” frequency rank
- #19,454
- “wirklicher” frequency rank
- 19623
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wirklich | wirklicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tatsächlich existierend und nicht nur in der Einbildung vorhanden seiend | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs wirklich |
Where the eye mixes wirklich and wirklicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. wirklich runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against wirklicher's 10 (CVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: wirklich vs wirklicher
A purely visual mix-up. wirklich ([ˈvɪʁklɪç]) and wirklicher ([ˈvɪʁklɪçɐ]) 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) - “wirklich” sits inside “wirklicher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wirklich is recorded at frequency rank #169, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪʁklɪç]. wirklicher is at rank #19,454, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪʁklɪçɐ].
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 19623, this pair ranks #1,906,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wirklich vs wirklicher
Shared letters: chiklrw. Private to "wirklich": -. Private to "wirklicher": e.
"wirklich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "wirklicher" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- wirklich ← iwrklich · wikrlich · wirkilch · wirkklich · wirklcih · wirklicch · wirklichh · wirklihc
- wirklicher ← iwrklicher · wikrlicher · wirkilcher · wirkklicher · wirklciher · wirkliccher · wirklicehr · wirklicherr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wirklich" for "wirklicher" ever safe?
Frequency check: "wirklich" vs "wirklicher" - which ranks higher?
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 "wirklich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wirklicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,906,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wirklich" and "wirklicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Willich vs wirklich". 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 #1,906,352 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.