Which to use
“zufällig” and “zufälliger” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,526
- “zufällig” frequency rank
- #45,062
- “zufälliger” frequency rank
- 47588
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zufällig | zufälliger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unvorhersehbar und ohne Absicht geschehend, durch Zufall | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zufällig |
Where the eye mixes zufällig and zufälliger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. zufällig runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against zufälliger's 10 (CVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses zufällig with zufälliger
A purely visual mix-up. zufällig ([ˈt͡suːfɛlɪç]) and zufälliger ([ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “zufällig” sits inside “zufälliger”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zufällig is recorded at frequency rank #2,526, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪç]. zufälliger is at rank #45,062, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡɐ].
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 47588, this pair ranks #1,279,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zufällig vs zufälliger
Shared letters: fgiluzä. Private to "zufällig": -. Private to "zufälliger": er.
"zufällig" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "zufälliger" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zufällig" and "zufälliger" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "zufällig" or "zufälliger" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "zufällig" and "zufälliger" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zufällig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zufälliger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,279,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zufällig" and "zufälliger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zufälligen vs zufälliger". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,279,073 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.