Which to use
“Frühzeit” is a noun and “frühzeitig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,100
- “Frühzeit” frequency rank
- #7,048
- “frühzeitig” frequency rank
- 41148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Frühzeit | frühzeitig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Zeitraum, der den Anfang von etwas (beispielsweise einer Entwicklung) darstellt | zu einem relativ frühen Zeitpunkt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Frühzeit and frühzeitig apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Frühzeit is [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯t] while frühzeitig is [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Frühzeit” sits inside “frühzeitig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Frühzeit is recorded at frequency rank #34,100, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯t]. frühzeitig is at rank #7,048, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːˌt͡saɪ̯tɪç].
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 41148, this pair ranks #1,487,925 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Frühzeit vs frühzeitig
Shared letters: efhirtzü. Private to "Frühzeit": -. Private to "frühzeitig": g.
"Frühzeit" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVVC · "frühzeitig" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVVCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Frühzeit" and "frühzeitig" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Frühzeit" or "frühzeitig"?
Remembering Frühzeit vs frühzeitig
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Frühzeit”; for an adjective, it's “frühzeitig”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Frühzeit” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable