DatesvsDauerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,798
“Dates” frequency rank
#2,238
“Dauer” frequency rank
16036
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dates Dauer
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Date zeitliche Erstreckung von etwas

Where the eye mixes Dates and Dauer

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

5 ch
Dates
5 ch
Dauer

Why the eye confuses Dates with Dauer

A purely visual mix-up. Dates ([deɪt͡s]) and Dauer ([ˈdaʊ̯ɐ]) 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 16036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dates is recorded at frequency rank #13,798, classified as anoun, pronounced [deɪt͡s]. Dauer is at rank #2,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdaʊ̯ɐ].

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 16036, this pair ranks #1,939,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Dates vs Dauer

Shared letters: ade. Private to "Dates": st. Private to "Dauer": ru.

"Dates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Dauer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Datesadtes · daets · datess · datse · dattes · ddates · dtaes
  • Daueraduer · daeur · dauerr · daure · ddauer · duaer

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Dates" and "Dauer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([deɪt͡s] versus [ˈdaʊ̯ɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Dates" or "Dauer"?
"Dauer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,238 in our German list, against #13,798 for "Dates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Dates" and "Dauer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dauer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,939,140 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dates" and "Dauer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dates vs dudes". 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 #1,939,140 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