Which to use
“dell” is a verb and “dem” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,204
- “dell” frequency rank
- #22
- “dem” frequency rank
- 18226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dell | dem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dellen | [1] Dativ Singular des definiten Artikels der |
Where the eye mixes dell and dem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dell vs dem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dell is [dɛl] while dem is [deːm]. 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 (verb vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dell is recorded at frequency rank #18,204, classified as averb, pronounced [dɛl]. 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 18226, this pair ranks #1,920,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dell vs dem
Shared letters: de. Private to "dell": l. Private to "dem": m.
"dell" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dell ← ddell · dlel · edll
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dell" and "dem" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dell" or "dem"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dell" 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 #1,920,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dell" and "dem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dell vs dess". 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 #1,920,252 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.