Which to use
“hartnäckig” and “hartnäckige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,825
- “hartnäckig” frequency rank
- #41,229
- “hartnäckige” frequency rank
- 56054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hartnäckig | hartnäckige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf etwas eigensinnig, beharrlich, unnachgiebig bestehend | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs hartnäckig |
Where the eye mixes hartnäckig and hartnäckige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. hartnäckig runs 10 letters (CVCCCVCCVC) against hartnäckige's 11 (CVCCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between hartnäckig and hartnäckige
A purely visual mix-up. hartnäckig ([ˈhaʁtˌnɛkɪç]) and hartnäckige ([ˈhaʁtˌnɛkɪɡə]) 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) - “hartnäckig” sits inside “hartnäckige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hartnäckig is recorded at frequency rank #14,825, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaʁtˌnɛkɪç]. hartnäckige is at rank #41,229, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhaʁtˌnɛkɪɡə].
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 56054, this pair ranks #955,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of hartnäckig vs hartnäckige
Shared letters: acghiknrtä. Private to "hartnäckig": -. Private to "hartnäckige": e.
"hartnäckig" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVC · "hartnäckige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hartnäckig" for "hartnäckige" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "hartnäckig" or "hartnäckige" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "hartnäckig" and "hartnäckige" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "hartnäckig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hartnäckige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #955,414 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hartnäckig" and "hartnäckige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hartnäckige vs hartnäckigen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #955,414 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.