vielfachenvsvierfacheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,287
“vielfachen” frequency rank
#35,529
“vierfache” frequency rank
72816
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vielfachen vierfache
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vielfach Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vierfach

Where the eye mixes vielfachen and vierfache

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vielfachen runs 10 letters (CVVCCVCCVC) against vierfache's 9 (CVVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vielfachen
9 ch
vierfache

Visual trap between vielfachen and vierfache

A purely visual mix-up. vielfachen ([ˈfiːlfaxn̩]) and vierfache ([ˈfiːɐ̯faxə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vielfachen is recorded at frequency rank #37,287, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfiːlfaxn̩]. vierfache is at rank #35,529, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯faxə].

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 72816, this pair ranks #377,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vielfachen vs vierfache

Shared letters: acefhiv. Private to "vielfachen": ln. Private to "vierfache": r.

"vielfachen" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC  ·  "vierfache" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vielfachen ← ivelfachen · veilfachen · vieflachen · vielafchen · vielfacchen · vielfacehn · vielfachenn · vielfachhen
  • vierfache ← iverfache · veirfache · viefrache · vierafche · vierfacche · vierfaceh · vierfachhe · vierfahce

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vielfachen" and "vierfache" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfiːlfaxn̩] versus [ˈfiːɐ̯faxə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vielfachen" vs "vierfache" - which ranks higher?
"vierfache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,529 in our German list, against #37,287 for "vielfachen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vielfachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vierfache" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #377,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vielfachen" and "vierfache" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vierfach vs vierfache". 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 #377,756 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