DatevsDativWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,717
“Date” frequency rank
#27,674
“Dativ” frequency rank
31391
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Date Dativ
Definition Verabredung, meistens von zwei Verliebten Wem-Fall, (im Deutschen und Lateinischen) 3. Fall (Kasus)

Where the eye mixes Date and Dativ

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Date
5 ch
Dativ

Visual trap between Date and Dativ

A purely visual mix-up. Date ([dɛɪ̯t]) and Dativ ([ˈdaːtiːf]) 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 31391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Date is recorded at frequency rank #3,717, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɛɪ̯t]. Dativ is at rank #27,674, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdaːtiːf].

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 31391, this pair ranks #1,729,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Date vs Dativ

Shared letters: adt. Private to "Date": e. Private to "Dativ": iv.

"Date" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Dativ" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dateadte · daet · datte · ddate · dtae
  • Dativadtiv · daitv · dativv · dattiv · datvi · ddativ · dtaiv

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Date" and "Dativ" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([dɛɪ̯t] versus [ˈdaːtiːf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Date" or "Dativ"?
"Date" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,717 in our German list, against #27,674 for "Dativ". 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 "Date" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dativ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,729,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Date" and "Dativ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dai vs Dativ". 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 #1,729,067 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