aufwändigevsaufwendigWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,437
“aufwändige” frequency rank
#11,170
“aufwendig” frequency rank
42607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufwändige aufwendig
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs aufwändig mit großem Aufwand oder Einsatz verbunden

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aufwändige and aufwendig apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
aufwändige
9 ch
aufwendig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aufwändige ([ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndɪɡə]) and aufwendig ([ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndɪç]) 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 42607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufwändige is recorded at frequency rank #31,437, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndɪɡə]. aufwendig is at rank #11,170, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndɪç].

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 42607, this pair ranks #1,444,158 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufwändige vs aufwendig

Shared letters: adefginuw. Private to "aufwändige": ä. Private to "aufwendig": -.

"aufwändige" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCV  ·  "aufwendig" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufwendigafuwendig · aufewndig · auffwendig · aufwednig · aufwenddig · aufwendgi · aufwendigg · aufwenidg

Frequency comparison

aufwändige#31,437
aufwendig#11,170

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufwändige" and "aufwendig" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndɪɡə] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufwändige" or "aufwendig"?
"aufwendig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,170 in our German list, against #31,437 for "aufwändige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aufwändige vs aufwendig

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 “aufwändige” 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