vorsichtigevsvorsichtigerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,710
“vorsichtige” frequency rank
#18,757
“vorsichtiger” frequency rank
58467
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorsichtige vorsichtiger
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs vorsichtig Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs vorsichtig

Where the eye mixes vorsichtige and vorsichtiger

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

11 ch
vorsichtige
12 ch
vorsichtiger

Why the eye confuses vorsichtige with vorsichtiger

A purely visual mix-up. vorsichtige ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡə]) and vorsichtiger ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡɐ]) 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) - “vorsichtige” sits inside “vorsichtiger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorsichtige is recorded at frequency rank #39,710, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡə]. vorsichtiger is at rank #18,757, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡɐ].

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 58467, this pair ranks #861,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorsichtige vs vorsichtiger

Shared letters: ceghiorstv. Private to "vorsichtige": -. Private to "vorsichtiger": -.

"vorsichtige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCV  ·  "vorsichtiger" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorsichtige ← ovrsichtige · vorischtige · vorrsichtige · vorscihtige · vorsicchtige · vorsichhtige · vorsichitge · vorsichtgie
  • vorsichtiger ← ovrsichtiger · vorischtiger · vorrsichtiger · vorscihtiger · vorsicchtiger · vorsichhtiger · vorsichitger · vorsichtgier

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vorsichtige" and "vorsichtiger" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡə] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzɪçtɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "vorsichtige" or "vorsichtiger" show up more?
"vorsichtiger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,757 in our German list, against #39,710 for "vorsichtige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "vorsichtige" and "vorsichtiger" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorsichtige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorsichtiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #861,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorsichtige" and "vorsichtiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorsichtige vs vorsichtigen". 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 #861,669 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