DämmevsdämmertTell them apart

Quick tell: Dämme is a noun, dämmert is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Dämme” is a noun and “dämmert” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,271
“Dämme” frequency rank
#48,080
“dämmert” frequency rank
84351
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dämme dämmert
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Damm 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dämmern

Where the eye mixes Dämme and dämmert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Dämme runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against dämmert's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Dämme
7 ch
dämmert

Look-alike desk: Dämme vs dämmert

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dämme is [ˈdɛmə] while dämmert is [ˈdɛmɐt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Dämme” sits inside “dämmert”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dämme is recorded at frequency rank #36,271, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛmə]. dämmert is at rank #48,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛmɐt].

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 84351, this pair ranks #125,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Dämme vs dämmert

Shared letters: demä. Private to "Dämme": -. Private to "dämmert": rt.

"Dämme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "dämmert" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Dämme" and "dämmert" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Dämme" is a noun and "dämmert" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Dämme" vs "dämmert" - which ranks higher?
"Dämme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,271 in our German list, against #48,080 for "dämmert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dämme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dämmert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #125,147 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dämme" and "dämmert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dämme vs dare". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #125,147 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