susceptible / prone
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susceptible to
To be especially receptive or sensitive to something negative, especially illnesses or problems.
Im Winter bin ich immer besonders anfällig für Erkältungen.
In winter, I am always especially susceptible to colds.
When describing what someone or something is susceptible to, you always use the preposition 'für' followed by the accusative.
Manche Menschen sind anfälliger für Stress als andere.
Some people are more susceptible to stress than others.
The context makes the meaning clear: if people or living beings are being discussed, it usually refers to susceptibility to illnesses or emotional problems. If devices or systems are being discussed, it refers to susceptibility to technical errors or malfunctions.
Mein Sohn ist leider sehr anfällig für Mittelohrentzündungen.
Unfortunately, my son is very susceptible to middle ear infections.
In technical contexts, 'anfällig' (susceptible/prone) is often used as the second part of compound adjectives. Examples are 'störanfällig' (prone to malfunction) or 'reparaturanfällig' (prone to needing repairs).
Das WLAN-Signal ist in diesem Teil des Hauses sehr störanfällig.
The Wi-Fi signal is very prone to interference in this part of the house.
reliable
'zuverlässig' and 'anfällig' are clear opposites here when it comes to function and safety. 'zuverlässig' describes something that works stably and can be trusted. 'anfällig' describes something that easily develops problems, makes errors, or breaks down. For people, 'zuverlässig' can mean that someone does what they promise. For devices or systems, the contrast is especially clear: a reliable system works safely, while an anfällig system often has malfunctions.
Dieses Programm ist anfällig für Fehler, wenn viele Nutzer gleichzeitig arbeiten.
This program is prone to errors when many users are working at the same time.
Der alte Drucker ist überraschend zuverlässig und macht kaum Probleme.
The old printer is surprisingly reliable and hardly causes any problems.