dämmertvsdauertWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dämmert” and “dauert” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,080
“dämmert” frequency rank
#1,761
“dauert” frequency rank
49841
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dämmert dauert
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dämmern 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dauern

Where the eye mixes dämmert and dauert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dämmert runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against dauert's 6 (CVVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
dämmert
6 ch
dauert

Visual trap between dämmert and dauert

A purely visual mix-up. dämmert ([ˈdɛmɐt]) and dauert ([ˈdaʊ̯ɐt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dämmert is recorded at frequency rank #48,080, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛmɐt]. dauert is at rank #1,761, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐt].

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 49841, this pair ranks #1,196,330 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dämmert vs dauert

Shared letters: dert. Private to "dämmert": mä. Private to "dauert": au.

"dämmert" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "dauert" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dauert ← aduert · daeurt · dauerrt · dauertt · dauetr · dauret · ddauert · duaert

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dämmert" and "dauert" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛmɐt] versus [ˈdaʊ̯ɐt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "dämmert" or "dauert" show up more?
"dauert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,761 in our German list, against #48,080 for "dämmert". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dämmert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dauert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,196,330 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dämmert" and "dauert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dämme vs dämmert". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,196,330 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