# Operation vs operative

> German confusable word pair

## The two words

### Operation
*noun · IPA [opəʁaˈt͡si̯oːn] · frequency rank #2,674*
chirurgischer Eingriff in den Organismus

### operative
*adjective · IPA [opəʁaˈtiːvə] · frequency rank #12,357*
Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs operativ

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/de/vs/operation-vs-operative