Which to use
“den” is an unknown and “deux” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10
- “den” frequency rank
- #29,540
- “deux” frequency rank
- 29550
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | den | deux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Akkusativ Singular Maskulinum des bestimmten Artikels der | zwei |
Where the eye mixes den and deux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between den and deux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: den is [deːn] while deux is [dø]. 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 num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
den is recorded at frequency rank #10, classified as anunknown, pronounced [deːn]. deux is at rank #29,540, tagged as anum, pronounced [dø].
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 29550, this pair ranks #1,764,758 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of den vs deux
Shared letters: de. Private to "den": n. Private to "deux": ux.
"den" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "deux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- deux ← ddeux · deuxx · dexu · duex · edux
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "den" for "deux" ever safe?
Frequency check: "den" vs "deux" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "den" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,764,758 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "den" and "deux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dess vs deux". 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 #1,764,758 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.