GewalttatenvsgewalttätigWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#21,277
“Gewalttaten” frequency rank
#17,919
“gewalttätig” frequency rank
39196
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Gewalttaten gewalttätig
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Gewalttat 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 Gewalttaten and gewalttätig apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
Gewalttaten
11 ch
gewalttätig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Gewalttaten is [ɡəˈvaltˌtaːtn̩] while gewalttätig is [ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Gewalttaten is recorded at frequency rank #21,277, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltˌtaːtn̩]. 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 39196, this pair ranks #1,543,397 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Gewalttaten vs gewalttätig

Shared letters: aegltw. Private to "Gewalttaten": n. Private to "gewalttätig": .

"Gewalttaten" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC  ·  "gewalttätig" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Gewalttatenegwalttaten · geawlttaten · gewallttaten · gewaltaten · gewaltatten · gewalttaetn · gewalttatenn · gewalttatne

Frequency comparison

Gewalttaten#21,277
gewalttätig#17,919

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Gewalttaten" and "gewalttätig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Gewalttaten" is a noun and "gewalttätig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Gewalttaten" or "gewalttätig"?
"gewalttätig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,919 in our German list, against #21,277 for "Gewalttaten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Gewalttaten vs gewalttätig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Gewalttaten”; for an adjective, it's “gewalttätig”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Gewalttaten” 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