Which to use
“demselben” is an unknown and “derselbe” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,893
- “demselben” frequency rank
- #9,168
- “derselbe” frequency rank
- 17061
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demselben | derselbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Singular Maskulinum des Demonstrativpronomens derselbe | bezeichnet die Identität mit einem vorausgegangenen oder bekannten Ding im Gegensatz zu einem anderen Ding derselben Art, für das "der gleiche" zu verwenden ist |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set demselben and derselbe apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: demselben is [deːmˈzɛlbn̩] while derselbe is [deːɐ̯ˈzɛlbə]. 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 (unknown vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17061, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demselben is recorded at frequency rank #7,893, classified as anunknown, pronounced [deːmˈzɛlbn̩]. derselbe is at rank #9,168, tagged as apron, pronounced [deːɐ̯ˈzɛlbə].
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 17061, this pair ranks #1,930,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of demselben vs derselbe
Shared letters: bdels. Private to "demselben": mn. Private to "derselbe": r.
"demselben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "derselbe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "demselben" and "derselbe" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "demselben" or "derselbe"?
Remembering demselben vs derselbe
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “demselben”; for a pronoun, it's “derselbe”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “demselben” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable