zufälligvszufälligerWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set zufällig and zufälliger apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
zufällig
10 ch
zufälliger

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

zufällig#2,526
zufälliger#45,062

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zufällig" and "zufälliger" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːfɛlɪç] versus [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "zufällig" or "zufälliger"?
"zufällig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,526 in our German list, against #45,062 for "zufälliger". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering zufällig vs zufälliger

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “zufällig” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list