KommunikationvskommunikativeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,345
“Kommunikation” frequency rank
#35,275
“kommunikative” frequency rank
37620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kommunikation kommunikative
Definition Handlung zwischen Menschen und Organisationen unter gegenseitiger Bezugnahme mit zwei oder mehr Akteuren (möglicherweise auch über ein Medium); Informationsmitteilung in Form von Zeichen, Ziel ist das Verstehen dieser Mitteilungen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs kommunikativ

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Kommunikation and kommunikative apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
Kommunikation
13 ch
kommunikative

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kommunikation is [kɔmunikaˈt͡si̯oːn] while kommunikative is [kɔmunikaˈtiːvə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kommunikation is recorded at frequency rank #2,345, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔmunikaˈt͡si̯oːn]. kommunikative is at rank #35,275, tagged as anadj, pronounced [kɔmunikaˈtiːvə].

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 37620, this pair ranks #1,585,387 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Kommunikation vs kommunikative

Shared letters: aikmnotu. Private to "Kommunikation": -. Private to "kommunikative": ev.

"Kommunikation" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVC  ·  "kommunikative" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kommunikationkkommunikation · kmomunikation · kommnuikation · kommuinkation · kommuniaktion · kommunikaiton · kommunikatino · kommunikationn
  • kommunikativekkommunikative · kmomunikative · kommnuikative · kommuinkative · kommuniaktive · kommunikaitve · kommunikatiev · kommunikativve

Frequency comparison

Kommunikation#2,345
kommunikative#35,275

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Kommunikation" and "kommunikative" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Kommunikation" is a noun and "kommunikative" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Kommunikation" or "kommunikative"?
"Kommunikation" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,345 in our German list, against #35,275 for "kommunikative". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Kommunikation vs kommunikative

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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