Which to use
“unfähig” and “unfähige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,957
- “unfähig” frequency rank
- #47,067
- “unfähige” frequency rank
- 58024
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unfähig | unfähige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht die nötigen Kenntnisse oder Fertigkeiten für die Erfüllung einer Aufgabe habend; einer Tätigkeit nicht gewachsen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unfähig |
Where the eye mixes unfähig and unfähige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. unfähig runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against unfähige's 8 (VCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between unfähig and unfähige
A purely visual mix-up. unfähig ([ˈʊnˌfɛːɪç]) and unfähige ([ˈʊnˌfɛːɪɡə]) 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) - “unfähig” sits inside “unfähige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unfähig is recorded at frequency rank #10,957, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnˌfɛːɪç]. unfähige is at rank #47,067, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnˌfɛːɪɡə].
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 58024, this pair ranks #878,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of unfähig vs unfähige
Shared letters: fghinuä. Private to "unfähig": -. Private to "unfähige": e.
"unfähig" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "unfähige" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unfähig" and "unfähige" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "unfähig" or "unfähige" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "unfähig" and "unfähige" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "unfähig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unfähige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #878,667 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unfähig" and "unfähige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unfähige vs unfähigen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #878,667 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.