Which to use
“Deck” is a noun and “des” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,877
- “Deck” frequency rank
- #23
- “des” frequency rank
- 9900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Deck | des |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plattform über einem Schiffsraum, auch der Raum zwischen zwei Decks | [1] Genitiv Singular von der und das |
Where the eye mixes Deck and des
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Deck with des
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Deck is [dɛk] while des is [dɛs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 9900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Deck is recorded at frequency rank #9,877, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɛk]. 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 9900, this pair ranks #1,977,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Deck vs des
Shared letters: de. Private to "Deck": ck. Private to "des": s.
"Deck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "des" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Deck ← dcek · ddeck · decck · deckk · dekc · edck
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Deck" and "des" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Deck" or "des" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Deck" 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 #1,977,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Deck" and "des" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Deck vs Docks". 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 #1,977,756 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.