DekadenvsDekadenzWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Dekaden” and “Dekadenz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#45,210
“Dekaden” frequency rank
#35,703
“Dekadenz” frequency rank
80913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dekaden Dekadenz
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Dekade Verfall, Entartung, sittlicher und kultureller Niedergang

Where the eye mixes Dekaden and Dekadenz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Dekaden runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against Dekadenz's 8 (CVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Dekaden
8 ch
Dekadenz

Why the eye confuses Dekaden with Dekadenz

A purely visual mix-up. Dekaden ([deˈkaːdn̩]) and Dekadenz ([dekaˈdɛnt͡s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Dekaden” sits inside “Dekadenz”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dekaden is recorded at frequency rank #45,210, classified as anoun, pronounced [deˈkaːdn̩]. Dekadenz is at rank #35,703, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dekaˈdɛnt͡s].

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 80913, this pair ranks #186,013 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Dekaden vs Dekadenz

Shared letters: adekn. Private to "Dekaden": -. Private to "Dekadenz": z.

"Dekaden" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "Dekadenz" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dekaden ← ddekaden · deakden · dekadden · dekadenn · dekadne · dekaedn · dekdaen · dekkaden
  • Dekadenz ← ddekadenz · deakdenz · dekaddenz · dekadennz · dekadenzz · dekadezn · dekadnez · dekaednz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Dekaden" and "Dekadenz" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([deˈkaːdn̩] versus [dekaˈdɛnt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Dekaden" vs "Dekadenz" - which ranks higher?
"Dekadenz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,703 in our German list, against #45,210 for "Dekaden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dekaden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dekadenz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #186,013 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dekaden" and "Dekadenz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dekaden vs Dukaten". 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 #186,013 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list