Which to use
“Explosion” and “Explosiv” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,422
- “Explosion” frequency rank
- #45,257
- “Explosiv” frequency rank
- 51679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Explosion | Explosiv |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plötzliche, mit lautem Knall verbundene Volumenausdehnung auf Grund von chemischen oder kernphysikalischen Reaktionen bei gleichzeitigem Temperatur- und Druckanstieg, die zur Beschädigung oder Zerstörung der Umgebung führt | Laut, der durch das explosive Ausströmen des Phonationsstromes, der zuvor gestoppt wurde, entsteht |
Where the eye mixes Explosion and Explosiv
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Explosion vs Explosiv
A purely visual mix-up. Explosion ([ɛksploˈzi̯oːn]) and Explosiv ([ɛksploˈziːf]) 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 51679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Explosion is recorded at frequency rank #6,422, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛksploˈzi̯oːn]. Explosiv is at rank #45,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɛksploˈziːf].
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 51679, this pair ranks #1,126,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Explosion vs Explosiv
Shared letters: eilopsx. Private to "Explosion": n. Private to "Explosiv": v.
"Explosion" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVVC · "Explosiv" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Explosion" and "Explosiv" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Explosion" or "Explosiv" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Explosion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Explosiv" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,126,235 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Explosion" and "Explosiv" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Explosiv vs Explosive". 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 #1,126,235 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.