radioaktivvsradioaktivenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“radioaktiv” and “radioaktiven” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,158
“radioaktiv” frequency rank
#26,579
“radioaktiven” frequency rank
70737
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature radioaktiv radioaktiven
Definition Radioaktivität aufweisend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs radioaktiv

Where the eye mixes radioaktiv and radioaktiven

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. radioaktiv runs 10 letters (CVCVVVCCVC) against radioaktiven's 12 (CVCVVVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
radioaktiv
12 ch
radioaktiven

Visual trap between radioaktiv and radioaktiven

A purely visual mix-up. radioaktiv ([ˌʁadi̯oʔakˈtiːf]) and radioaktiven ([ˌʁadi̯oʔakˈtiːvn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “radioaktiv” sits inside “radioaktiven”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70737, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

radioaktiv is recorded at frequency rank #44,158, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌʁadi̯oʔakˈtiːf]. radioaktiven is at rank #26,579, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʁadi̯oʔakˈtiːvn̩].

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 70737, this pair ranks #437,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of radioaktiv vs radioaktiven

Shared letters: adikortv. Private to "radioaktiv": -. Private to "radioaktiven": en.

"radioaktiv" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVVCCVC  ·  "radioaktiven" · 12 letters · shape CVCVVVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • radioaktiv ← ardioaktiv · raddioaktiv · radiaoktiv · radioakitv · radioakktiv · radioaktivv · radioakttiv · radioaktvi
  • radioaktiven ← ardioaktiven · raddioaktiven · radiaoktiven · radioakitven · radioakktiven · radioaktievn · radioaktivenn · radioaktivne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "radioaktiv" and "radioaktiven" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʁadi̯oʔakˈtiːf] versus [ˌʁadi̯oʔakˈtiːvn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "radioaktiv" or "radioaktiven"?
"radioaktiven" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,579 in our German list, against #44,158 for "radioaktiv". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "radioaktiv" and "radioaktiven" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "radioaktiv" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "radioaktiven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #437,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "radioaktiv" and "radioaktiven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "radioaktiv vs radioaktiver". 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 #437,318 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list