VielfaltvsvielfältigWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Vielfalt is a noun, vielfältig is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Vielfalt” is a noun and “vielfältig” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,082
“Vielfalt” frequency rank
#10,769
“vielfältig” frequency rank
14851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vielfalt vielfältig
Definition viele verschiedene Dinge, Eigenschaften oder Möglichkeiten in verschiedenen Arten und Weisen, mit vielen Seiten, vielen Aspekten, vielen Facetten, vielen Varianten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Vielfalt and vielfältig apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Vielfalt
10 ch
vielfältig

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vielfalt is [ˈfiːlˌfalt] while vielfältig is [ˈfiːlˌfɛltɪç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vielfalt is recorded at frequency rank #4,082, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfiːlˌfalt]. vielfältig is at rank #10,769, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfiːlˌfɛltɪç].

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 14851, this pair ranks #1,948,260 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vielfalt vs vielfältig

Shared letters: efiltv. Private to "Vielfalt": a. Private to "vielfältig": .

"Vielfalt" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "vielfältig" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vielfaltivelfalt · veilfalt · vieflalt · vielaflt · vielfallt · vielfaltt · vielfatl · vielffalt

Frequency comparison

Vielfalt#4,082
vielfältig#10,769

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vielfalt" and "vielfältig" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vielfalt" is a noun and "vielfältig" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vielfalt" or "vielfältig"?
"Vielfalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,082 in our German list, against #10,769 for "vielfältig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Vielfalt vs vielfältig

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Vielfalt”; for an adjective, it's “vielfältig”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Vielfalt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list