DenkmalevsDenkmälernWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,564
“Denkmale” frequency rank
#41,105
“Denkmälern” frequency rank
87669
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Denkmale Denkmälern
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Denkmal Dativ Plural des Substantivs Denkmal

Where the eye mixes Denkmale and Denkmälern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Denkmale runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against Denkmälern's 10 (CVCCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Denkmale
10 ch
Denkmälern

Visual trap between Denkmale and Denkmälern

A purely visual mix-up. Denkmale ([ˈdɛŋkˌmaːlə]) and Denkmälern ([ˈdɛŋkˌmɛːlɐn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Denkmale is recorded at frequency rank #46,564, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkˌmaːlə]. Denkmälern is at rank #41,105, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdɛŋkˌmɛːlɐn].

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 87669, this pair ranks #77,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Denkmale vs Denkmälern

Shared letters: deklmn. Private to "Denkmale": a. Private to "Denkmälern": rä.

"Denkmale" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "Denkmälern" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Denkmale ← ddenkmale · deknmale · denkamle · denkkmale · denkmael · denkmalle · denkmlae · denkmmale

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Denkmale" and "Denkmälern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdɛŋkˌmaːlə] versus [ˈdɛŋkˌmɛːlɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Denkmale" or "Denkmälern" show up more?
"Denkmälern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,105 in our German list, against #46,564 for "Denkmale". 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 "Denkmale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Denkmälern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #77,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Denkmale" and "Denkmälern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denkbare vs Denkmale". 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 #77,439 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