IrrsinnvsirrsinnigWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Irrsinn is a noun, irrsinnig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Irrsinn” is a noun and “irrsinnig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,631
“Irrsinn” frequency rank
#46,754
“irrsinnig” frequency rank
67385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Irrsinn irrsinnig
Definition Psychiatrie, veraltet: kranker Geisteszustand, Geistesgestörtheit in der Art und Weise des Irrsinns; psychisch auffällig oder gestört

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Irrsinn and irrsinnig apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Irrsinn
9 ch
irrsinnig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Irrsinn is [ˈɪʁzɪn] while irrsinnig is [ˈɪʁˌzɪnɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Irrsinn” sits inside “irrsinnig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Irrsinn is recorded at frequency rank #20,631, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɪʁzɪn]. irrsinnig is at rank #46,754, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɪʁˌzɪnɪç].

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 67385, this pair ranks #541,848 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Irrsinn vs irrsinnig

Shared letters: inrs. Private to "Irrsinn": -. Private to "irrsinnig": g.

"Irrsinn" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "irrsinnig" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Irrsinnirrisnn · irrsin · irrsnin · irrssinn · irsinn · irsrinn · rirsinn
  • irrsinnigirrisnnig · irrsinig · irrsining · irrsinngi · irrsinnigg · irrsninig · irrssinnig · irsinnig

Frequency comparison

Irrsinn#20,631
irrsinnig#46,754

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Irrsinn" and "irrsinnig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Irrsinn" is a noun and "irrsinnig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Irrsinn" or "irrsinnig"?
"Irrsinn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,631 in our German list, against #46,754 for "irrsinnig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Irrsinn vs irrsinnig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Irrsinn”; for an adjective, it's “irrsinnig”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Irrsinn” 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