zutreffenvszutreffendWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: zutreffen is a verb, zutreffend is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“zutreffen” is a verb and “zutreffend” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,140
“zutreffen” frequency rank
#15,278
“zutreffend” frequency rank
35418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zutreffen zutreffend
Definition mit den Tatsachen übereinstimmen mit der Realität übereinstimmend, den Tatsachen entsprechend, der Wirklichkeit entsprechend

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
zutreffen
10 ch
zutreffend

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zutreffen is [ˈt͡suːˌtʁɛfn̩] while zutreffend is [ˈt͡suːˌtʁɛfn̩t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “zutreffen” sits inside “zutreffend”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zutreffen is recorded at frequency rank #20,140, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌtʁɛfn̩]. zutreffend is at rank #15,278, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌtʁɛfn̩t].

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 35418, this pair ranks #1,640,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zutreffen vs zutreffend

Shared letters: efnrtuz. Private to "zutreffen": -. Private to "zutreffend": d.

"zutreffen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "zutreffend" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zutreffenuztreffen · ztureffen · zurteffen · zuterffen · zutrefefn · zutrefen · zutreffenn · zutreffne
  • zutreffenduztreffend · ztureffend · zurteffend · zuterffend · zutrefefnd · zutrefend · zutreffedn · zutreffendd

Frequency comparison

zutreffen#20,140
zutreffend#15,278

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zutreffen" and "zutreffend" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zutreffen" is a verb and "zutreffend" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "zutreffen" or "zutreffend"?
"zutreffend" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,278 in our German list, against #20,140 for "zutreffen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering zutreffen vs zutreffend

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “zutreffen”; for an adjective, it's “zutreffend”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “zutreffen” 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