gewalttätigvsgewalttätigeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,919
“gewalttätig” frequency rank
#25,150
“gewalttätige” frequency rank
43069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gewalttätig gewalttätige
Definition dazu neigend, andere wiederholt und auffällig unprovoziert (bzw. durch Kleinigkeiten provoziert) oder unangebracht physisch (auch tödlich) zu verletzen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gewalttätig

Where the eye mixes gewalttätig and gewalttätige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. gewalttätig runs 11 letters (CVCVCCCVCVC) against gewalttätige's 12 (CVCVCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
gewalttätig
12 ch
gewalttätige

Look-alike desk: gewalttätig vs gewalttätige

A purely visual mix-up. gewalttätig ([ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪç]) and gewalttätige ([ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪɡə]) 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) - “gewalttätig” sits inside “gewalttätige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gewalttätig is recorded at frequency rank #17,919, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪç]. gewalttätige is at rank #25,150, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪɡə].

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 43069, this pair ranks #1,429,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gewalttätig vs gewalttätige

Shared letters: aegiltwä. Private to "gewalttätig": -. Private to "gewalttätige": -.

"gewalttätig" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC  ·  "gewalttätige" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gewalttätig" for "gewalttätige" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪç] versus [ɡəˈvaltˌtɛːtɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "gewalttätig" or "gewalttätige" show up more?
"gewalttätig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,919 in our German list, against #25,150 for "gewalttätige". 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 "gewalttätig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewalttätige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,429,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gewalttätig" and "gewalttätige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gewalttätige vs gewalttätiger". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,429,588 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