gültigervsgünstigerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#45,328
“gültiger” frequency rank
#4,438
“günstiger” frequency rank
49766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gültiger günstiger
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gültig Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs günstig

Where the eye mixes gültiger and günstiger

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. gültiger runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against günstiger's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
gültiger
9 ch
günstiger

Why the eye confuses gültiger with günstiger

A purely visual mix-up. gültiger ([ˈɡʏltɪɡɐ]) and günstiger ([ˈɡʏnstɪɡɐ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gültiger is recorded at frequency rank #45,328, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏltɪɡɐ]. günstiger is at rank #4,438, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏnstɪɡɐ].

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 49766, this pair ranks #1,199,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gültiger vs günstiger

Shared letters: egirtü. Private to "gültiger": l. Private to "günstiger": ns.

"gültiger" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "günstiger" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gültiger" for "günstiger" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʏltɪɡɐ] versus [ˈɡʏnstɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gültiger" vs "günstiger" - which ranks higher?
"günstiger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,438 in our German list, against #45,328 for "gültiger". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gültiger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "günstiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,199,210 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gültiger" and "günstiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "giftiger vs gültiger". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,199,210 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