Which to use
“Nachteil” is a noun and “nachteilig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,092
- “Nachteil” frequency rank
- #27,860
- “nachteilig” frequency rank
- 33952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Nachteil | nachteilig |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | negative oder unerwünschte Folge oder negativer Nebeneffekt, zum Beispiel einer Lösung, eines Vorgehens, einer Überlegung | Nachteile hervorrufend/herbeibringend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Nachteil and nachteilig apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Nachteil is [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l] while nachteilig is [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯lɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Nachteil” sits inside “nachteilig”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Nachteil is recorded at frequency rank #6,092, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯l]. nachteilig is at rank #27,860, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌtaɪ̯lɪç].
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 33952, this pair ranks #1,674,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Nachteil vs nachteilig
Shared letters: acehilnt. Private to "Nachteil": -. Private to "nachteilig": g.
"Nachteil" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "nachteilig" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Nachteil ← anchteil · nacchteil · nachetil · nachhteil · nachteill · nachteli · nachtiel · nachtteil
- nachteilig ← anchteilig · nacchteilig · nachetilig · nachhteilig · nachteiilg · nachteilgi · nachteiligg · nachteillig
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Nachteil" and "nachteilig" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Nachteil" or "nachteilig"?
Remembering Nachteil vs nachteilig
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Nachteil”; for an adjective, it's “nachteilig”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Nachteil” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable