gewaltigvsgewaltigeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,478
“gewaltig” frequency rank
#11,887
“gewaltige” frequency rank
19365
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewaltig gewaltige
Definition sehr groß oder sehr bedeutend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewaltig

Where the eye mixes gewaltig and gewaltige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gewaltig runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against gewaltige's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
gewaltig
9 ch
gewaltige

Why the eye confuses gewaltig with gewaltige

A purely visual mix-up. gewaltig ([ɡəˈvaltɪç]) and gewaltige ([ɡəˈvaltɪɡə]) 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) - “gewaltig” sits inside “gewaltige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewaltig is recorded at frequency rank #7,478, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltɪç]. gewaltige is at rank #11,887, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltɪɡə].

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 19365, this pair ranks #1,909,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gewaltig vs gewaltige

Shared letters: aegiltw. Private to "gewaltig": -. Private to "gewaltige": -.

"gewaltig" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gewaltige" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gewaltig ← egwaltig · geawltig · gewalitg · gewalltig · gewaltgi · gewaltigg · gewalttig · gewatlig
  • gewaltige ← egwaltige · geawltige · gewalitge · gewalltige · gewaltgie · gewaltieg · gewaltigge · gewalttige

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gewaltig" and "gewaltige" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvaltɪç] versus [ɡəˈvaltɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gewaltig" or "gewaltige"?
"gewaltig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,478 in our German list, against #11,887 for "gewaltige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gewaltig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewaltige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,909,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewaltig" and "gewaltige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewaltige vs gewaltiges". 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 #1,909,116 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