Which to use
“Operation” is a noun and “operativ” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,674
- “Operation” frequency rank
- #26,991
- “operativ” frequency rank
- 29665
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Operation | operativ |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | chirurgischer Eingriff in den Organismus | einen chirurgischen Eingriff betreffend |
Where the eye mixes Operation and operativ
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Operation vs operativ
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Operation is [opəʁaˈt͡si̯oːn] while operativ is [opəʁaˈtiːf]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29665, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Operation is recorded at frequency rank #2,674, classified as anoun, pronounced [opəʁaˈt͡si̯oːn]. operativ is at rank #26,991, tagged as anadj, pronounced [opəʁaˈtiːf].
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 29665, this pair ranks #1,762,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Operation vs operativ
Shared letters: aeioprt. Private to "Operation": n. Private to "operativ": v.
"Operation" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVVC · "operativ" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Operation" for "operativ" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Operation" or "operativ" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Operation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "operativ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,762,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Operation" and "operativ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "operativ vs operativer". 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 #1,762,549 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.