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 eye mixes Zufälle and zufällige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Zufälle runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against zufällige's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Zufälle with zufällige
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Zufälle" for "zufällige" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Zufälle" vs "zufällige" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zufälle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zufällige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,460,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zufälle" and "zufällige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zufällige vs zufälliger". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,460,359 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.