vitalvsvitaleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,823
“vital” frequency rank
#39,706
“vitale” frequency rank
65529
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vital vitale
Definition lebendig, kräftig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vital

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vital and vitale apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
vital
6 ch
vitale

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vital ([viˈtaːl]) and vitale ([viˈtaːlə]) 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) - “vital” sits inside “vitale”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vital is recorded at frequency rank #25,823, classified as anadj, pronounced [viˈtaːl]. vitale is at rank #39,706, tagged as anadj, pronounced [viˈtaːlə].

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 65529, this pair ranks #603,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vital vs vitale

Shared letters: ailtv. Private to "vital": -. Private to "vitale": e.

"vital" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "vitale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vitalivtal · viatl · vitall · vitla · vittal · vtial · vvital
  • vitaleivtale · viatle · vitael · vitalle · vitlae · vittale · vtiale · vvitale

Frequency comparison

vital#25,823
vitale#39,706

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vital" and "vitale" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([viˈtaːl] versus [viˈtaːlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vital" or "vitale"?
"vital" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,823 in our German list, against #39,706 for "vitale". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vital vs vitale

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vital” 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