Which to use
“deg” is a verb and “dem” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,522
- “deg” frequency rank
- #22
- “dem” frequency rank
- 33544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deg | dem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs degt | [1] Dativ Singular des definiten Artikels der |
Where the eye mixes deg and dem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses deg with dem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deg is [dɛk] while dem is [deːm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “deg” becomes m in “dem”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deg is recorded at frequency rank #33,522, classified as averb, pronounced [dɛk]. dem is at rank #22, tagged as adet, pronounced [deːm].
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 33544, this pair ranks #1,683,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deg vs dem
Shared letters: de. Private to "deg": g. Private to "dem": m.
"deg" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "deg" and "dem" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "deg" vs "dem" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "deg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,683,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deg" and "dem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deg vs diet". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,683,654 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.