DemonstrationvsDemonstrativWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,930
“Demonstration” frequency rank
#28,599
“Demonstrativ” frequency rank
34529
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Demonstration Demonstrativ
Definition öffentlicher Auftritt von Personen zwecks Meinungsäußerung ein auf jemanden oder etwas hinweisendes Pronomen

Where the eye mixes Demonstration and Demonstrativ

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.

13 ch
Demonstration
12 ch
Demonstrativ

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Demonstration ([demɔnstʁaˈt͡si̯oːn]) and Demonstrativ ([demɔnstʁaˈtiːf]) 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 34529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Demonstration is recorded at frequency rank #5,930, classified as anoun, pronounced [demɔnstʁaˈt͡si̯oːn]. Demonstrativ is at rank #28,599, tagged as anoun, pronounced [demɔnstʁaˈtiːf].

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 34529, this pair ranks #1,661,242 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Demonstration vs Demonstrativ

Shared letters: adeimnorst. Private to "Demonstration": -. Private to "Demonstrativ": v.

"Demonstration" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVVC  ·  "Demonstrativ" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Demonstrationddemonstration · demmonstration · demnostration · demonnstration · demonsrtation · demonsstration · demonstartion · demonstraiton
  • Demonstrativddemonstrativ · demmonstrativ · demnostrativ · demonnstrativ · demonsrtativ · demonsstrativ · demonstartiv · demonstraitv

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Demonstration" and "Demonstrativ" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([demɔnstʁaˈt͡si̯oːn] versus [demɔnstʁaˈtiːf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Demonstration" or "Demonstrativ"?
"Demonstration" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,930 in our German list, against #28,599 for "Demonstrativ". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Demonstration" and "Demonstrativ". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Demonstration" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Demonstrativ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,661,242 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Demonstration" and "Demonstrativ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Demonstration vs Demonstrationen". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list