zuständigvszuständigeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,013
“zuständig” frequency rank
#7,555
“zuständige” frequency rank
10568
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zuständig zuständige
Definition verantwortlich für etwas Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zuständig

Where the eye mixes zuständig and zuständige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. zuständig runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against zuständige's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
zuständig
10 ch
zuständige

Visual trap between zuständig and zuständige

A purely visual mix-up. zuständig ([ˈt͡suːˌʃtɛndɪç]) and zuständige ([ˈt͡suːˌʃtɛndɪɡə]) 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) - “zuständig” sits inside “zuständige”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10568, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zuständig is recorded at frequency rank #3,013, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌʃtɛndɪç]. zuständige is at rank #7,555, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌʃtɛndɪɡə].

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 10568, this pair ranks #1,974,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zuständig vs zuständige

Shared letters: dginstuzä. Private to "zuständig": -. Private to "zuständige": e.

"zuständig" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "zuständige" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "zuständig" for "zuständige" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːˌʃtɛndɪç] versus [ˈt͡suːˌʃtɛndɪɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "zuständig" vs "zuständige" - which ranks higher?
"zuständig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,013 in our German list, against #7,555 for "zuständige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "zuständig" and "zuständige" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zuständig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zuständige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,974,506 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zuständig" and "zuständige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zuständig vs Zustands". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,974,506 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list