infizierenvsinfiziertConfusable pair

Quick tell: infizieren is a verb, infiziert is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“infizieren” is a verb and “infiziert” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,258
“infizieren” frequency rank
#11,262
“infiziert” frequency rank
39520
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature infizieren infiziert
Definition mit einer Substanz oder Erregern in Kontakt bringen, die Krankheiten auslösen können mit etwas Krankheitserregendem in Kontakt gekommen

Where the eye mixes infizieren and infiziert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. infizieren runs 10 letters (VCCVCVVCVC) against infiziert's 9 (VCCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
infizieren
9 ch
infiziert

Look-alike desk: infizieren vs infiziert

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: infizieren is [ɪnfiˈt͡siːʁən] while infiziert is [ɪnfiˈt͡siːɐ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

infizieren is recorded at frequency rank #28,258, classified as averb, pronounced [ɪnfiˈt͡siːʁən]. infiziert is at rank #11,262, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɪnfiˈt͡siːɐ̯t].

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 39520, this pair ranks #1,534,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of infizieren vs infiziert

Shared letters: efinrz. Private to "infizieren": -. Private to "infiziert": t.

"infizieren" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCVC  ·  "infiziert" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • infizieren ← ifnizieren · inffizieren · infiizeren · infizeiren · infizieern · infizierenn · infizierne · infizierren
  • infiziert ← ifniziert · inffiziert · infiizert · infizeirt · infizierrt · infiziertt · infizietr · infiziret

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "infizieren" and "infiziert" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "infizieren" is a verb and "infiziert" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "infizieren" or "infiziert"?
"infiziert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,262 in our German list, against #28,258 for "infizieren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "infizieren" and "infiziert" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "infizieren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "infiziert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,534,502 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "infizieren" and "infiziert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "infizieren vs inspizieren". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,534,502 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