Which to use
“effektiv” and “effektive” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,411
- “effektiv” frequency rank
- #11,416
- “effektive” frequency rank
- 17827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | effektiv | effektive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Fähigkeit besitzend, eine Aufgabe erfolgreich zu erledigen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs effektiv |
Where the eye mixes effektiv and effektive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses effektiv with effektive
A purely visual mix-up. effektiv ([ɛfɛkˈtiːf]) and effektive ([ɛfɛkˈtiːvə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “effektiv” sits inside “effektive”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
effektiv is recorded at frequency rank #6,411, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛfɛkˈtiːf]. effektive is at rank #11,416, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛfɛkˈtiːvə].
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 17827, this pair ranks #1,923,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of effektiv vs effektive
Shared letters: efiktv. Private to "effektiv": -. Private to "effektive": -.
"effektiv" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "effektive" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "effektiv" and "effektive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "effektiv" or "effektive" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "effektiv" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "effektive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,923,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "effektiv" and "effektive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "effektive vs effektivste". 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 #1,923,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.