Which to use
“Dates” is a noun and “des” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,798
- “Dates” frequency rank
- #23
- “des” frequency rank
- 13821
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dates | des |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Date | [1] Genitiv Singular von der und das |
Where the eye mixes Dates and des
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Dates with des
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Dates is [deɪt͡s] while des is [dɛs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13821, 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]. des is at rank #23, tagged as adet, pronounced [dɛs].
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 13821, this pair ranks #1,955,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Dates vs des
Shared letters: des. Private to "Dates": at. Private to "des": -.
"Dates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "des" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Dates ← adtes · daets · datess · datse · dattes · ddates · dtaes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Dates" for "des" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Dates" or "des"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Dates" and "des" 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 "des" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,955,456 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Dates" and "des" 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 #1,955,456 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.