zufälligevszufälligenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,093
“zufällige” frequency rank
#20,137
“zufälligen” frequency rank
39230
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zufällige zufälligen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zufällig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zufällig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set zufällige and zufälligen apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
zufällige
10 ch
zufälligen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. zufällige ([ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡə]) and zufälligen ([ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡn̩]) 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) - “zufällige” sits inside “zufälligen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zufällige is recorded at frequency rank #19,093, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡə]. zufälligen is at rank #20,137, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡn̩].

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 39230, this pair ranks #1,542,474 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zufällige vs zufälligen

Shared letters: efgiluzä. Private to "zufällige": -. Private to "zufälligen": n.

"zufällige" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV  ·  "zufälligen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

zufällige#19,093
zufälligen#20,137

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zufällige" and "zufälligen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡə] versus [ˈt͡suːfɛlɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "zufällige" or "zufälligen"?
"zufällige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,093 in our German list, against #20,137 for "zufälligen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering zufällige vs zufälligen

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 “zufällige” 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