DämmevsdummWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Dämme is a noun, dumm is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#36,271
“Dämme” frequency rank
#1,472
“dumm” frequency rank
37743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dämme dumm
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Damm schwach an Verstand, ohne Intelligenz, ohne Können, unwissend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Dämme and dumm apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Dämme
4 ch
dumm

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dämme is [ˈdɛmə] while dumm is [dʊm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37743, 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]. dumm is at rank #1,472, tagged as anadj, pronounced [dʊm].

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 37743, this pair ranks #1,582,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Dämme vs dumm

Shared letters: dm. Private to "Dämme": . Private to "dumm": u.

"Dämme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "dumm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dummddumm · dmum · dum · udmm

Frequency comparison

Dämme#36,271
dumm#1,472

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Dämme" and "dumm" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Dämme" is a noun and "dumm" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Dämme" or "dumm"?
"dumm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,472 in our German list, against #36,271 for "Dämme". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Dämme vs dumm

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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