GewalttatvsgewalttätigWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Gewalttat is a noun, gewalttätig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Gewalttat” is a noun and “gewalttätig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,649
“Gewalttat” frequency rank
#17,919
“gewalttätig” frequency rank
62568
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gewalttat gewalttätig
Definition aggressive Handlung, bei der körperliche oder technische Gewalt gegen eine Person/Personen ausgeübt wird dazu neigend, andere wiederholt und auffällig unprovoziert (bzw. durch Kleinigkeiten provoziert) oder unangebracht physisch (auch tödlich) zu verletzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Gewalttat and gewalttätig apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Gewalttat
11 ch
gewalttätig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gewalttat is [ɡəˈvaltˌtaːt] while gewalttätig is [ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62568, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gewalttat is recorded at frequency rank #44,649, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltˌtaːt]. gewalttätig is at rank #17,919, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪç].

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 62568, this pair ranks #708,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Gewalttat vs gewalttätig

Shared letters: aegltw. Private to "Gewalttat": -. Private to "gewalttätig": .

"Gewalttat" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "gewalttätig" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gewalttategwalttat · geawlttat · gewallttat · gewaltat · gewaltatt · gewalttatt · gewalttta · gewatltat

Frequency comparison

Gewalttat#44,649
gewalttätig#17,919

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gewalttat" and "gewalttätig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gewalttat" is a noun and "gewalttätig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gewalttat" or "gewalttätig"?
"gewalttätig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,919 in our German list, against #44,649 for "Gewalttat". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Gewalttat vs gewalttätig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Gewalttat”; for an adjective, it's “gewalttätig”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Gewalttat” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list