effektivvseffektivenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,411
“effektiv” frequency rank
#20,224
“effektiven” frequency rank
26635
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature effektiv effektiven
Definition die Fähigkeit besitzend, eine Aufgabe erfolgreich zu erledigen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs effektiv

Where the eye mixes effektiv and effektiven

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
effektiv
10 ch
effektiven

Look-alike desk: effektiv vs effektiven

A purely visual mix-up. effektiv ([ɛfɛkˈtiːf]) and effektiven ([ɛfɛkˈtiːvn̩]) 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) - “effektiv” sits inside “effektiven”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26635, 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]. effektiven is at rank #20,224, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛfɛkˈtiːvn̩].

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 26635, this pair ranks #1,814,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of effektiv vs effektiven

Shared letters: efiktv. Private to "effektiv": -. Private to "effektiven": n.

"effektiv" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "effektiven" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • effektivefefktiv · efektiv · effekitv · effekktiv · effektivv · effekttiv · effektvi · effetkiv
  • effektivenefefktiven · efektiven · effekitven · effekktiven · effektievn · effektivenn · effektivne · effektivven

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "effektiv" for "effektiven" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɛfɛkˈtiːf] versus [ɛfɛkˈtiːvn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "effektiv" or "effektiven" show up more?
"effektiv" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,411 in our German list, against #20,224 for "effektiven". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "effektiven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,814,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "effektiv" and "effektiven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "effektiven vs effektives". 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 #1,814,931 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