Which to use
“negativ” and “negative” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,271
- “negativ” frequency rank
- #3,985
- “negative” frequency rank
- 7256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | negativ | negative |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ungünstig oder sogar deutlich schlecht | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs negativ |
Where the eye mixes negativ and negative
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: negativ vs negative
A purely visual mix-up. negativ ([ˈneːɡatiːf]) and negative ([ˈneːɡatiːvə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “negativ” sits inside “negative”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
negativ is recorded at frequency rank #3,271, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈneːɡatiːf]. negative is at rank #3,985, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈneːɡatiːvə].
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 7256, this pair ranks #1,988,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of negativ vs negative
Shared letters: aegintv. Private to "negativ": -. Private to "negative": -.
"negativ" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "negative" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "negativ" for "negative" ever safe?
Which is more common, "negativ" or "negative"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "negativ" and "negative" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "negativ" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "negative" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,988,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "negativ" and "negative" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "negative vs negativem". 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 #1,988,832 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.