Ähnlich, gleich and identisch: similar, the same or identical?
Ähnlich means sharing some features: similar. Gleich often means the same or equal in the relevant respect. Identisch emphasizes complete correspondence or identity in the context being discussed. Gleich and identisch can overlap substantially, and neither alone provides a universal rule about whether two things are one physical object or separate matching objects.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| ähnlich | similar | shared appearance, features or situations | Adjective; jemandem ähnlich; ähnlicher |
| gleich | same; equal | matching amounts, characteristics, times | Adjective in this comparison; die gleichen |
| identisch | identical; fully corresponding | matching details, content or identity | Adjective; identisch mit + dative |
ähnlich
Meaning and usage: Use ähnlich when things have features in common without claiming they match completely. The context selects the features: two words may look similar while their meanings differ.
Grammar: Before a noun, use adjective endings: ähnliche Wörter. After sein, the adjective is unchanged. The compared person or thing can be dative: jemandem ähnlich sein. Similar in a manner can use ähnlich wie.
Die beiden Wörter sehen ähnlich aus.
The two words look similar.
Sie ist ihrer Schwester sehr ähnlich.
She is very similar to her sister.
gleich
Meaning and usage: Use gleich for equality or sameness in a relevant property, such as age, quantity or a chosen design. It need not describe every possible property of the things compared. Gleich also has a separate time meaning, 'soon,' which is not the sense discussed here.
Grammar: Before a noun, inflect it: die gleiche Größe. Predicative or adverbial use remains unchanged: die Größen sind gleich; gleich groß. A comparison can use gleich ... wie.
Die beiden Taschen sind gleich groß.
The two bags are the same size.
Wir haben die gleiche Frage.
We have the same question.
identisch
Meaning and usage: Use identisch when you want to emphasize complete correspondence in the relevant details, or establish that someone or something is the same identified entity. The intended scope matters.
Grammar: An inflectable adjective: identische Kopien. Predicative identisch stays unchanged. The comparison partner normally uses mit + dative.
Die beiden Textversionen sind identisch.
The two versions of the text are identical.
Diese Datei ist mit der gespeicherten Kopie identisch.
This file is identical to the saved copy.
Overlap and context
For duplicate text, gleich and identisch can both fit; identisch makes the exact match more explicit. Gleich groß limits equality to size, while ähnlich groß allows some difference. If physical identity matters, explain it explicitly rather than assuming these adjectives always encode the contrast between one object and two matching objects.
Common mistakes
- Use dative with ähnlich in jemandem ähnlich sein.
- Use mit after identisch, rather than automatically copying English 'to.'
- Do not treat ähnlich as a weaker translation of every use of gleich; equal numbers are a different kind of claim.
Memory aid: Ähnlich shares features; gleich matches the relevant property; identisch stresses an exact match.
Try it
Two bags have matching dimensions but different colors. Complete: Sie sind ___ groß.
Show the answer
gleich
The statement claims equality of size, not identity in every feature.
Sources for meaning and usage
Bekannt vs berühmt: familiar, well-known or famous?
Bekannt means known or familiar, and can also mean well-known or famous. Berühmt focuses on being widely known for a notable achievement or quality. Something can be mir bekannt because I know it, without being famous. A famous singer may be both bekannt and berühmt. The useful distinction is personal familiarity versus public fame, while remembering that bekannt also covers public recognition.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| bekannt | known; familiar; well-known | Knowledge by a person or a wider audience | Adjective: ein bekannter Ort, eine bekannte Autorin. After sein, stay uninflected: Der Ort ist bekannt. Use a dative person in mir bekannt. Für etwas bekannt uses für + accusative. |
| berühmt | famous; renowned | Wide recognition for achievements or qualities | Adjective: ein berühmter Musiker, eine berühmte Kirche. Predicative: Die Kirche ist berühmt. Für + accusative or wegen + genitive can name the reason for fame. |
bekannt
Meaning and usage: Bekannt can describe information you already know, a person you recognize or a widely known artist. Jemandem bekannt sein identifies the person to whom something is familiar. Bekannte is also used as a noun for an acquaintance, but the adjective lesson here does not count that noun as another word. The broad meaning makes bekannt a useful alternative when you do not want to claim great fame.
Grammar: Adjective: ein bekannter Ort, eine bekannte Autorin. After sein, stay uninflected: Der Ort ist bekannt. Use a dative person in mir bekannt. Für etwas bekannt uses für + accusative.
Diese Regel ist mir schon bekannt.
I already know this rule.
Das Café ist für seinen Kuchen bekannt.
The café is known for its cake.
berühmt
Meaning and usage: Berühmt normally gives stronger public recognition than simply saying a name is familiar to you. It suits artists, scientists, works and places with an established reputation. It does not require worldwide fame: the relevant audience depends on context. Saying something is berühmt is a claim about its reputation, so do not use it merely because you personally have heard of it.
Grammar: Adjective: ein berühmter Musiker, eine berühmte Kirche. Predicative: Die Kirche ist berühmt. Für + accusative or wegen + genitive can name the reason for fame.
Die Musikerin ist für ihre Opern berühmt.
The musician is famous for her operas.
Wir besuchen morgen ein berühmtes Museum.
We are visiting a famous museum tomorrow.
Overlap and context
Bekannt and berühmt overlap directly in the well-known-person sense. They do not form a precise measurable fame scale, and no fixed number of people must know someone before berühmt becomes correct. Mir bekannt is different: it identifies my knowledge, so replacing it with mir berühmt does not express the same idea. A useful contrast is familiar to me versus famous for something.
Common mistakes
- To say familiar to me, use mir bekannt, not mir berühmt.
- Do not add adjective endings after sein: Sie ist berühmt, not Sie ist berühmte.
- Do not assume bekannt excludes fame; a bekannter Künstler may be a famous artist.
Memory aid: Bekannt can be known by me or by many. Berühmt highlights a public reputation. Attach mir to the familiarity sentence and für to the reputation sentence.
Try it
Complete for familiar to me: Der Name ist ___ bekannt, aber ich kenne die Person nicht.
Show the answer
mir
The dative pronoun names the person to whom the name is familiar.
Sources for meaning and usage
Fremd vs ausländisch: unfamiliar or from another country?
Ausländisch means relating to or coming from another country. Fremd is broader: it can mean foreign, unfamiliar, unknown or belonging to someone else. A person, place or object can be fremd to you without being ausländisch. Choose according to whether you mean national origin or your relationship to something.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| fremd | foreign; unfamiliar; someone else’s | a stranger; an unknown place; others’ belongings | adjective; etwas ist jemandem fremd |
| ausländisch | from or relating to another country | companies, qualifications or currencies | adjective; attributive endings |
fremd
Meaning and usage: Fremd can describe an unfamiliar place or person, something that belongs to another person, or something from outside your usual environment. It also has a foreign-origin meaning. Context decides which sense applies: fremdes Eigentum is someone else’s property, not necessarily property from another country.
Grammar: Adjective: ein fremder Ort, eine fremde Person. Predicative fremd stays uninflected. In Die Umgebung ist mir fremd, the person experiencing unfamiliarity is dative. Comparative fremder; superlative am fremdesten where meaningful.
Die Straßen in dieser Stadt sind mir noch fremd.
The streets in this city are still unfamiliar to me.
ausländisch
Meaning and usage: Ausländisch explicitly concerns another country or countries outside the relevant country. It is useful when discussing a qualification, company, currency or source. It does not tell you whether an object or person is unfamiliar, nor is it a description of how well someone speaks German.
Grammar: Adjective: ein ausländisches Unternehmen, ausländische Abschlüsse. Predicative use stays uninflected. Ordinary country-origin classification is not normally graded with a comparative. There is no required object or fixed preposition.
Sie arbeitet für ein ausländisches Unternehmen, das ein Büro in Berlin hat.
She works for a foreign company that has an office in Berlin.
Overlap and context
Eine fremde Sprache and eine ausländische Sprache can overlap, but fremd often concerns the language’s relation to the learner, while ausländisch points toward a country perspective. Something ausländisch can be familiar to you. Something fremd can come from your own city. When discussing people, use the relevant information precisely; nationality, residence, family origin and familiarity are different facts. The adjectives do not establish all of them at once.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate “a stranger” as an ausländische Person unless foreign origin is specifically meant.
- Fremde Sachen may be other people’s belongings, not imported goods.
- Avoid using ausländisch to infer language ability or how long someone has lived in a country.
Memory aid: Ausland points to another country. Fremd points to something outside what is your own or familiar; it can also have the country sense.
Try it
An unfamiliar street is in your own town. Which adjective fits: fremd or ausländisch?
Show the answer
fremd
The contrast concerns your familiarity, not another country.
Sources for meaning and usage
Aktuell vs. tatsächlich: “current” is not “actual” in German
Aktuell means current, timely, or up to date. Tatsächlich means actual or real as an adjective, and actually or really as an adverb. Aktuell does not normally translate English “actual.” To choose, ask whether you mean “true in reality” or “relevant or valid now.”
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| aktuell | current; up to date; topical | present information; current prices; timely topics | adjective; inflect before nouns; unchanged after sein |
| tatsächlich | actual; real; actually | facts; reality; confirmation or surprise | adjective with endings; adverb without endings |
aktuell
Meaning and usage: Aktuell places something in the present or describes its immediate relevance. A current price, a recent news item, or an issue relevant now can be aktuell. The word can also mean fashionable or up to date. It does not tell you that the information is factually true.
Grammar: As an adjective, it takes normal endings before a noun: der aktuelle Preis, aktuelle Nachrichten. After sein, it remains aktuell. Used adverbially, it can mean currently: aktuell arbeiten wir … . It is not a noun, so it has no article or plural of its own.
Die aktuellen Öffnungszeiten stehen auf der Website.
The current opening hours are on the website.
Aktuell suche ich eine neue Wohnung.
I am currently looking for a new apartment.
tatsächlich
Meaning and usage: Tatsächlich emphasizes that something is real or true, rather than merely supposed or reported. Before a noun, it identifies the actual situation or amount. As an adverb, it can confirm a fact or express surprise. It does not automatically mean “at the present time.”
Grammar: Duden distinguishes adjective and adverb entries. An adjective takes endings: die tatsächlichen Kosten. The adverb stays unchanged: tatsächlich ist … or … ist tatsächlich … . A standalone Tatsächlich? can ask for confirmation, roughly “Really?” No noun article or plural applies.
Die tatsächlichen Kosten waren höher als geplant.
The actual costs were higher than planned.
Sie hat die Prüfung tatsächlich bestanden.
She actually passed the exam.
Overlap and context
Die aktuellen Zahlen are the current figures; die tatsächlichen Zahlen are the real figures. A report can contain figures that are both current and accurate, but each adjective selects a different property. In English, “actually” may also introduce a correction or soften a response. Depending on the sentence, German may use another expression, so tatsächlich is not a universal replacement.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate “the actual reason” as der aktuelle Grund if you mean the real reason.
- Do not read aktuelle Nachrichten as “actual news”: it means current news.
- Keep adjective endings before nouns, but do not add them to the adverbs in Aktuell suche ich … or Tatsächlich wusste ich … .
Memory aid: Aktuell asks “now?”; tatsächlich asks “real or true?”
Try it
Choose for “The actual price was €40”: Der ___ Preis betrug 40 Euro.
Show the answer
tatsächliche
The sentence identifies the real price. Aktuelle would identify the current price, which is a different claim.
Sources for meaning and usage
Sensibel, empfindlich and sensitiv: German sensitive words
Sensibel often means emotionally perceptive, sensitive or delicate. Empfindlich emphasizes reacting readily to a stimulus, being easily hurt or being easily damaged. Sensitiv overlaps with heightened sensitivity, but is a less dependable everyday default. English sensible usually requires a word such as vernünftig, not sensibel.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| sensibel | sensitive; perceptive; delicate | People, careful treatment and delicate issues | Adjective, inflected before nouns: ein sensibler Mensch, ein sensibles Thema. |
| empfindlich | sensitive; vulnerable; easily affected | Skin, materials, reactions and easily hurt feelings | Adjective: empfindliche Haut; die Haut ist empfindlich. |
| sensitiv | highly sensitive; oversensitive | Marked descriptions of sensitivity | Adjective: eine sensitive Person; die Person ist sensitiv. |
sensibel
Meaning and usage: Sensibel can praise someone’s ability to notice feelings or describe their emotional sensitivity. It also applies to painful stimuli and to delicate issues that demand care. That range prevents a strict “people only” rule: instruments and topics can also be sensibel. The English look-alike sensible creates an additional trap because it usually means reasonable rather than sensitive.
Grammar: Adjective, inflected before nouns: ein sensibler Mensch, ein sensibles Thema. After sein it remains uninflected: sie ist sensibel.
Das ist ein sensibles Thema für meine Familie.
That is a sensitive topic for my family.
Die Lehrerin geht sensibel mit der Unsicherheit des Kindes um.
The teacher responds sensitively to the child’s uncertainty.
empfindlich
Meaning and usage: Empfindlich commonly describes things or people that react strongly to a stimulus. Skin can be empfindlich, as can a delicate material or someone easily offended. It can also describe a considerable or painful impact, such as an empfindlicher Verlust. That last sense does not mean the loss itself has feelings: it says the loss is serious or strongly felt.
Grammar: Adjective: empfindliche Haut; die Haut ist empfindlich. Gegen + accusative or gegenüber + dative can name what triggers the sensitivity.
Der Stoff ist empfindlich gegen Feuchtigkeit.
The fabric is sensitive to moisture.
Er reagiert empfindlich auf persönliche Kritik.
He reacts sensitively to personal criticism.
sensitiv
Meaning and usage: The general Duden entry gives sensitiv a heightened or excessive-sensitivity meaning and links it to emotional vulnerability. This overlaps with senses of sensibel and empfindlich. It is therefore unsafe to assign it one exclusive type of sensitivity. In ordinary learner speech, sensibel or empfindlich is often a clearer starting choice; specialized technical and product language requires its own context check.
Grammar: Adjective: eine sensitive Person; die Person ist sensitiv. Ordinary adjective endings apply; it is not a noun with a grammatical plural.
In dieser Phase war er besonders sensitiv und reagierte stark auf kleine Bemerkungen.
During this period he was especially sensitive and reacted strongly to minor remarks.
Overlap and context
All three can concern sensitivity, and no universal emotional-versus-physical-versus-technical division is supported by the general dictionary entries checked here. Select familiar combinations such as sensible Themen and empfindliche Haut. Assess technical uses of sensitiv separately instead of forcing them into a neat classroom rule.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate a sensible decision as eine sensible Entscheidung when you mean reasonable. Eine vernünftige Entscheidung expresses that idea.
- Empfindlich can describe emotional sensitivity as well as a physical response; objects versus people is not the boundary.
- Do not treat sensitiv as an automatic translation of every English sensitive. Check the specific specialist context and register.
Memory aid: Sensibel notices or needs care; empfindlich is easily affected. Treat sensitiv as a marked option that needs context.
Try it
Which adjective fits the English false friend: a sensible plan, sensibel or vernünftig?
Show the answer
vernünftig
English sensible means reasonable here. Sensibel would shift the meaning toward sensitivity or delicacy.
Sources for meaning and usage
Konsequent or konsistent? Following through and staying coherent
Konsequent often describes following a principle, decision or goal through without wavering. It can also mean logically following from something. Konsistent describes internal coherence, stability or a lack of contradiction, especially in ideas, statements or systems. English 'consistent' may therefore require either German word depending on what you are evaluating.
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| konsequent | resolute; logically following through | behavior, decisions, methods | Adjective or adverbial adjective; konsequente |
| konsistent | coherent; stable; internally consistent | arguments, concepts, systems | Adjective or adverbial adjective; konsistente |
konsequent
Meaning and usage: Use konsequent when a person sticks to a decision or applies a principle steadily. It also describes logical follow-through, such as developing a model in a way that follows its starting assumptions. The word does not mean simply 'having consequences,' nor does it automatically praise the decision itself.
Grammar: An inflectable adjective: eine konsequente Entscheidung, ein konsequenter Mensch. After sein or when modifying an action, it remains unchanged: sie bleibt konsequent; sie handelt konsequent. No object case is required by the adjective itself.
Sie verfolgt ihr Ziel konsequent.
She pursues her goal consistently and resolutely.
Die neue Regel ist eine konsequente Weiterentwicklung des bisherigen Systems.
The new rule is a logical further development of the previous system.
konsistent
Meaning and usage: Use konsistent for something that hangs together in its construction or reasoning. It is particularly useful when evaluating whether an account, set of concepts or argument remains coherent. The adjective can also concern stable structure or material properties in specialist contexts.
Grammar: An inflectable adjective: konsistente Angaben. Predicative or adverbial use has no ending: die Angaben sind konsistent. If you compare it with another account, a mit phrase can supply that context, but the adjective does not require a direct object.
Die Aussagen sind in sich konsistent.
The statements are internally consistent.
Wir brauchen eine konsistente Erklärung für diese Ergebnisse.
We need a coherent explanation for these results.
Overlap and context
A logically developed argument may be both konsequent and konsistent. Konsequent can highlight following premises through; konsistent can highlight the resulting coherence. For sticking to a daily learning habit, konsequent is often more natural than the technical-sounding konsistent. That is a contextual preference, not a ban on using konsistent outside logic.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate every English 'consistent' mechanically as konsistent.
- Konsequent does not automatically mean correct, kind or desirable; someone can follow a poor plan resolutely.
- Konsistent describes coherence, not necessarily proof that the claim is true.
Memory aid: Konsequent follows through; konsistent holds together.
Try it
Which emphasizes disciplined follow-through: Sie übt jeden Morgen und bleibt dabei konsequent / konsistent?
Show the answer
konsequent
The sentence concerns sticking to a practice decision. Konsistent would shift attention toward stability or coherence.