All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| voll | full; whole; entirely | capacity, amount or extent | adjective; a full container |
| vollständig | complete; completely | all parts present or total extent | adjective; unchanged after sein |
voll
Meaning and usage: Use voll for a filled glass, a crowded bus, or a container with little room remaining. It also describes being full of a feeling and, in other senses, a whole amount or full extent: die volle Summe. Informal voll gut uses voll as an intensifier meaning very. Informal Ich bin voll can also mean being drunk, so context and register matter.
Grammar: As an adjective, voll takes endings before a noun: ein voller Bus, die volle Summe. After sein it is unchanged: Der Bus ist voll. Voll von + dative is a useful pattern for contents or feelings. Other recorded constructions include genitive complements; do not force one case onto every phrase with voll.
Der Bus ist voll, deshalb warten wir auf den nächsten.
The bus is full, so we are waiting for the next one.
Wir haben die volle Summe bezahlt.
We paid the full amount.
vollständig
Meaning and usage: Use vollständig when every required part is included: a complete application, a full list or an unabridged text. It can also mean completely as a modifier of an action or condition. Die Datei wurde vollständig gelöscht says it was deleted completely; it is not a statement about how much the file could hold.
Grammar: An attributive adjective takes endings: vollständige Unterlagen; ein vollständiger Satz. After sein, use vollständig without an ending: Die Unterlagen sind vollständig. In adverbial use it is also unchanged: vollständig lesen. It does not independently assign a case to a following noun; the wider sentence determines that case.
Sind die Unterlagen für den Antrag vollständig?
Are the documents for the application complete?
Bitte lesen Sie den Text vollständig.
Please read the entire text.
Overlap and context
Voll and vollständig overlap when describing a whole amount or full extent, but capacity and completeness are different questions. Ein voller Ordner says there is much in it; ein vollständiger Ordner can mean that all the intended contents are present. To make instructions precise, name what must be present or how much space is available. A thing can be partly filled and still be complete for its intended purpose.
Common mistakes
- Do not translate complete documents as volle Unterlagen when you mean that nothing is missing.
- Do not replace ein volles Glas with ein vollständiges Glas when describing the drink level.
- Avoid the absolute claim that voll refers only to physical containers; amounts, feelings and degree are documented uses.
- Keep adjective endings before nouns: die vollständigen Unterlagen, but die Unterlagen sind vollständig.
Memory aid: Ask two questions: Is there room left? Voll concerns fullness. Is a required part missing? Vollständig concerns completeness. Then check the particular phrase for an extent or whole-amount sense.
Try it
A folder contains many pages but lacks the signature page. Can it be voll and still not vollständig?
Show the answer
Yes.
Fullness concerns how much it contains; completeness concerns whether every required part is present. The missing signature page makes it incomplete.