Which to use
“deg” is a verb and “den” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,522
- “deg” frequency rank
- #10
- “den” frequency rank
- 33532
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deg | den |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs degt | Akkusativ Singular Maskulinum des bestimmten Artikels der |
Where the eye mixes deg and den
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses deg with den
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deg is [dɛk] while den is [deːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “deg” becomes n in “den”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33532, 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]. den is at rank #10, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [deːn].
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 33532, this pair ranks #1,683,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deg vs den
Shared letters: de. Private to "deg": g. Private to "den": n.
"deg" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "den" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deg" and "den" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "deg" or "den" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "deg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "den" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,683,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deg" and "den" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deg vs diet". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,683,921 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.