ZufällevszufälligeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,980
“Zufälle” frequency rank
#19,093
“zufällige” frequency rank
42073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zufälle zufällige
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zufall Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zufällig

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
Zufälle
9 ch
zufällige

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zufälle is [ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə] while zufällige is [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡə]. 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 42073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zufälle is recorded at frequency rank #22,980, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌfɛlə]. zufällige is at rank #19,093, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡə].

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 42073, this pair ranks #1,460,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Zufälle vs zufällige

Shared letters: efluzä. Private to "Zufälle": -. Private to "zufällige": gi.

"Zufälle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "zufällige" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV

Frequency comparison

Zufälle#22,980
zufällige#19,093

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Zufälle" and "zufällige" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Zufälle" is a noun and "zufällige" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Zufälle" or "zufällige"?
"zufällige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,093 in our German list, against #22,980 for "Zufälle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Zufälle vs zufällige

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Zufälle”; for an adjective, it's “zufällige”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Zufälle” 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