anfälligervsauffälligerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,935
“anfälliger” frequency rank
#39,210
“auffälliger” frequency rank
87145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature anfälliger auffälliger
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs anfällig Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs auffällig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set anfälliger and auffälliger apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
anfälliger
11 ch
auffälliger

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. anfälliger ([ˈanfɛlɪɡɐ]) and auffälliger ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfɛlɪɡɐ]) 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 87145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

anfälliger is recorded at frequency rank #47,935, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈanfɛlɪɡɐ]. auffälliger is at rank #39,210, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌfɛlɪɡɐ].

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 87145, this pair ranks #84,197 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of anfälliger vs auffälliger

Shared letters: aefgilrä. Private to "anfälliger": n. Private to "auffälliger": u.

"anfälliger" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "auffälliger" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

anfälliger#47,935
auffälliger#39,210

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "anfälliger" and "auffälliger" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanfɛlɪɡɐ] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌfɛlɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "anfälliger" or "auffälliger"?
"auffälliger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,210 in our German list, against #47,935 for "anfälliger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering anfälliger vs auffälliger

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “anfälliger” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list