Dämme vs dummes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#36,271
“Dämme” frequency rank: #10,257
“dummes” frequency rank: 46528
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Dämme	dummes
Definition	Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Damm	Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dumm

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Dämme and dummes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Dämme

6 ch

dummes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dämme is [ˈdɛmə] while dummes is [ˈdʊməs]. 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 46528, 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]. dummes is at rank #10,257, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊməs].

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 46528, this pair ranks #1,315,960 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Dämme vs dummes

Shared letters: dem. Private to "Dämme": ä. Private to "dummes": su.

"Dämme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dummes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

dummes ← ddummes · dmumes · dumems · dumes · dummess · dummse · udmmes

Frequency comparison

Dämme#36,271

dummes#10,257

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Dämme" and "dummes" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Dämme" is a noun and "dummes" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Dämme" or "dummes"?

"dummes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,257 in our German list, against #36,271 for "Dämme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Dämme vs dummes

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 “dummes”.
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