DänevsDateiWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#36,272
“Däne” frequency rank
#5,814
“Datei” frequency rank
42086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Däne Datei
Definition Staatsbürger von Dänemark auf einem Datenträger gespeicherte und durch einen Namen identifizierte Daten

Where the eye mixes Däne and Datei

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Däne
5 ch
Datei

Why the eye confuses Däne with Datei

A purely visual mix-up. Däne ([ˈdɛːnə]) and Datei ([daˈtaɪ̯]) 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 42086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Däne is recorded at frequency rank #36,272, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛːnə]. Datei is at rank #5,814, tagged as anoun, pronounced [daˈtaɪ̯].

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 42086, this pair ranks #1,459,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Däne vs Datei

Shared letters: de. Private to "Däne": . Private to "Datei": ait.

"Däne" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Datei" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dateiadtei · daeti · datie · dattei · ddatei · dtaei

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Däne" for "Datei" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛːnə] versus [daˈtaɪ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Däne" or "Datei" show up more?
"Datei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,814 in our German list, against #36,272 for "Däne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Däne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Datei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,459,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Däne" and "Datei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Däne vs Düne". 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 #1,459,967 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