Which to use
“demi” and “dumm” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,873
- “demi” frequency rank
- #1,472
- “dumm” frequency rank
- 38345
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demi | dumm |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | halb | schwach an Verstand, ohne Intelligenz, ohne Können, unwissend |
Where the eye mixes demi and dumm
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: demi vs dumm
A purely visual mix-up. demi ([də.mi]) and dumm ([dʊm]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38345, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demi is recorded at frequency rank #36,873, classified as anadj, pronounced [də.mi]. dumm is at rank #1,472, tagged as anadj, pronounced [dʊm].
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 38345, this pair ranks #1,566,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of demi vs dumm
Shared letters: dm. Private to "demi": ei. Private to "dumm": u.
"demi" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dumm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "demi" and "dumm" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "demi" or "dumm"?
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 "demi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dumm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,566,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demi" and "dumm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demi 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 #1,566,388 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.