dein vs del, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dein” is a pronoun and “del” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#316
“dein” frequency rank: #3,719
“del” frequency rank: 4035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dein	del
Definition	Form des Possessivpronomens „dein, deine, dein“: Zeigt den Besitz, das Eigentum oder die Zugehörigkeit einer Person bzw. Sache zu einer dem Sprecher direkt gegenüberstehenden Person, Sache an	Bezeichnung für ∂, ein Symbol für die partielle Ableitung – es ist nicht mit dem kleinen Delta δ zu verwechseln

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dein and del apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

dein

3 ch

del

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

dein and del form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dein is recorded at frequency rank #316, classified as apron, pronounced [daɪ̯n]. del is at rank #3,719, tagged as anabbrev.

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 4035, this pair ranks #1,998,740 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

dein#316

del#3,719

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dein" and "del" be used interchangeably?

No, "dein" and "del" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering dein vs del

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “dein”; for an abbrev, it's “del”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dein” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable