vernünftigevsvernünftigesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,479
“vernünftige” frequency rank
#19,071
“vernünftiges” frequency rank
28550
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vernünftige vernünftiges
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs vernünftig Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vernünftig

Where the eye mixes vernünftige and vernünftiges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. vernünftige runs 11 letters (CVCCVCCCVCV) against vernünftiges's 12 (CVCCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
vernünftige
12 ch
vernünftiges

Why the eye confuses vernünftige with vernünftiges

A purely visual mix-up. vernünftige ([fɛɐ̯ˈnʏnftɪɡə]) and vernünftiges ([fɛɐ̯ˈnʏnftɪɡəs]) 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) - “vernünftige” sits inside “vernünftiges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vernünftige is recorded at frequency rank #9,479, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈnʏnftɪɡə]. vernünftiges is at rank #19,071, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈnʏnftɪɡəs].

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 28550, this pair ranks #1,782,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vernünftige vs vernünftiges

Shared letters: efginrtvü. Private to "vernünftige": -. Private to "vernünftiges": s.

"vernünftige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCV  ·  "vernünftiges" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vernünftige" for "vernünftiges" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈnʏnftɪɡə] versus [fɛɐ̯ˈnʏnftɪɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vernünftige" vs "vernünftiges" - which ranks higher?
"vernünftige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,479 in our German list, against #19,071 for "vernünftiges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vernünftige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vernünftiges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,782,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vernünftige" and "vernünftiges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vernünftiger vs vernünftiges". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,782,777 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