vorläufigevsvorläufigesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,064
“vorläufige” frequency rank
#41,566
“vorläufiges” frequency rank
54630
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorläufige vorläufiges
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorläufig Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs vorläufig

Where the eye mixes vorläufige and vorläufiges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. vorläufige runs 10 letters (CVCCVVCVCV) against vorläufiges's 11 (CVCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vorläufige
11 ch
vorläufiges

Look-alike desk: vorläufige vs vorläufiges

A purely visual mix-up. vorläufige ([ˈfoːɐ̯lɔɪ̯fɪɡə]) and vorläufiges ([ˈfoːɐ̯lɔɪ̯fɪɡəs]) 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) - “vorläufige” sits inside “vorläufiges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54630, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorläufige is recorded at frequency rank #13,064, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯lɔɪ̯fɪɡə]. vorläufiges is at rank #41,566, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯lɔɪ̯fɪɡəs].

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 54630, this pair ranks #1,011,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorläufige vs vorläufiges

Shared letters: efgiloruvä. Private to "vorläufige": -. Private to "vorläufiges": s.

"vorläufige" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCV  ·  "vorläufiges" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vorläufige" for "vorläufiges" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯lɔɪ̯fɪɡə] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯lɔɪ̯fɪɡəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorläufige" or "vorläufiges"?
"vorläufige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,064 in our German list, against #41,566 for "vorläufiges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorläufige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorläufiges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,011,328 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorläufige" and "vorläufiges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorläufiger vs vorläufiges". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,011,328 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