häufigvshäufigeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#813
“häufig” frequency rank
#13,396
“häufige” frequency rank
14209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature häufig häufige
Definition vielfach vorkommend, viele Male, immer wieder auftretend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs häufig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set häufig and häufige apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
häufig
7 ch
häufige

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. häufig ([ˈhɔɪ̯fɪç]) and häufige ([ˈhɔɪ̯fɪɡə]) 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) - “häufig” sits inside “häufige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

häufig is recorded at frequency rank #813, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯fɪç]. häufige is at rank #13,396, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯fɪɡə].

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 14209, this pair ranks #1,952,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of häufig vs häufige

Shared letters: fghiuä. Private to "häufig": -. Private to "häufige": e.

"häufig" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "häufige" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV

Frequency comparison

häufig#813
häufige#13,396

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "häufig" and "häufige" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhɔɪ̯fɪç] versus [ˈhɔɪ̯fɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "häufig" or "häufige"?
"häufig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #813 in our German list, against #13,396 for "häufige". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering häufig vs häufige

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “häufig” 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