Which to use
“dasselbe” and “derselbe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,386
- “dasselbe” frequency rank
- #9,168
- “derselbe” frequency rank
- 11554
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dasselbe | derselbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum des Pronomens derselbe | bezeichnet die Identität mit einem vorausgegangenen oder bekannten Ding im Gegensatz zu einem anderen Ding derselben Art, für das "der gleiche" zu verwenden ist |
Where the eye mixes dasselbe and derselbe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dasselbe and derselbe follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses dasselbe with derselbe
A purely visual mix-up. dasselbe ([dasˈzɛlbə]) and derselbe ([deːɐ̯ˈzɛlbə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dasselbe is recorded at frequency rank #2,386, classified as apron, pronounced [dasˈzɛlbə]. derselbe is at rank #9,168, tagged as apron, pronounced [deːɐ̯ˈzɛlbə].
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 11554, this pair ranks #1,969,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dasselbe vs derselbe
Shared letters: bdels. Private to "dasselbe": a. Private to "derselbe": r.
"dasselbe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "derselbe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dasselbe" for "derselbe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dasselbe" vs "derselbe" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "dasselbe" and "derselbe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dasselbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derselbe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dasselbe" and "derselbe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demselben vs derselbe". 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 #1,969,254 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.