aktivvsaktivesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,100
“aktiv” frequency rank
#15,810
“aktives” frequency rank
16910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aktiv aktives
Definition in einer bestimmten Hinsicht tätig, engagiert Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs aktiv

Where the eye mixes aktiv and aktives

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
aktiv
7 ch
aktives

Visual trap between aktiv and aktives

A purely visual mix-up. aktiv ([akˈtiːf]) and aktives ([akˈtiːvəs]) 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) - “aktiv” sits inside “aktives”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aktiv is recorded at frequency rank #1,100, classified as anadj, pronounced [akˈtiːf]. aktives is at rank #15,810, tagged as anadj, pronounced [akˈtiːvəs].

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 16910, this pair ranks #1,931,987 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aktiv vs aktives

Shared letters: aiktv. Private to "aktiv": -. Private to "aktives": es.

"aktiv" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "aktives" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aktivakitv · akktiv · aktivv · akttiv · aktvi · atkiv · kativ
  • aktivesakitves · akktives · aktievs · aktivess · aktivse · aktivves · akttives · aktvies

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aktiv" and "aktives" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([akˈtiːf] versus [akˈtiːvəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aktiv" vs "aktives" - which ranks higher?
"aktiv" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,100 in our German list, against #15,810 for "aktives". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aktiv" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aktives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,931,987 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aktiv" and "aktives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aktives vs antikes". 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 #1,931,987 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