Which to use
“häufig” and “häufiger” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #813
- “häufig” frequency rank
- #2,969
- “häufiger” frequency rank
- 3782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | häufig | häufiger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vielfach vorkommend, viele Male, immer wieder auftretend | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs häufig |
Where the eye mixes häufig and häufiger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. häufig runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against häufiger's 8 (CVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses häufig with häufiger
A purely visual mix-up. häufig ([ˈhɔɪ̯fɪç]) and häufiger ([ˈhɔɪ̯fɪɡɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “häufig” sits inside “häufiger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
häufig is recorded at frequency rank #813, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯fɪç]. häufiger is at rank #2,969, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈhɔɪ̯fɪɡɐ].
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 3782, this pair ranks #1,999,382 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of häufig vs häufiger
Shared letters: fghiuä. Private to "häufig": -. Private to "häufiger": er.
"häufig" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "häufiger" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "häufig" and "häufiger" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "häufig" vs "häufiger" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "häufig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "häufiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,999,382 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "häufig" and "häufiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "haarig vs häufig". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,999,382 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.