Which to use
“wörtlich” and “wörtliche” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,492
- “wörtlich” frequency rank
- #45,710
- “wörtliche” frequency rank
- 54202
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wörtlich | wörtliche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im genauen Wortlaut | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs wörtlich |
Where the eye mixes wörtlich and wörtliche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. wörtlich runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCC) against wörtliche's 9 (CVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between wörtlich and wörtliche
A purely visual mix-up. wörtlich ([ˈvœʁtlɪç]) and wörtliche ([ˈvœʁtlɪçə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “wörtlich” sits inside “wörtliche”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wörtlich is recorded at frequency rank #8,492, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvœʁtlɪç]. wörtliche is at rank #45,710, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvœʁtlɪçə].
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 54202, this pair ranks #1,028,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wörtlich vs wörtliche
Shared letters: chilrtwö. Private to "wörtlich": -. Private to "wörtliche": e.
"wörtlich" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "wörtliche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wörtlich" for "wörtliche" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "wörtlich" or "wörtliche" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wörtlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wörtliche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,028,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wörtlich" and "wörtliche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weltliche vs wörtliche". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,028,107 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.