Which to use
“unfähige” and “unruhige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,067
- “unfähige” frequency rank
- #45,000
- “unruhige” frequency rank
- 92067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unfähige | unruhige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unfähig | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unruhig |
Where the eye mixes unfähige and unruhige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. unfähige and unruhige follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between unfähige and unruhige
A purely visual mix-up. unfähige ([ˈʊnˌfɛːɪɡə]) and unruhige ([ˈʊnʁuːɪɡə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unfähige is recorded at frequency rank #47,067, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnˌfɛːɪɡə]. unruhige is at rank #45,000, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʁuːɪɡə].
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 92067, this pair ranks #32,722 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of unfähige vs unruhige
Shared letters: eghinu. Private to "unfähige": fä. Private to "unruhige": r.
"unfähige" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "unruhige" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- unruhige ← nuruhige · unnruhige · unrhuige · unrruhige · unruhgie · unruhhige · unruhieg · unruhigge
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unfähige" for "unruhige" ever safe?
Frequency check: "unfähige" vs "unruhige" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unfähige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unruhige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,722 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unfähige" and "unruhige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unfähige vs unfähigen". 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 #32,722 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.