Which to use
“denselben” and “dieselben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,781
- “denselben” frequency rank
- #6,648
- “dieselben” frequency rank
- 13429
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denselben | dieselben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Akkusativ Singular des Demonstrativpronomens derselbe | Nominativ Plural des Demonstrativpronomens derselbe |
Where the eye mixes denselben and dieselben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. denselben (CVCCVCCVC) and dieselben (CVVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses denselben with dieselben
A purely visual mix-up. denselben ([deːnˈzɛlbn̩]) and dieselben ([diːˈzɛlbn̩]) 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 13429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denselben is recorded at frequency rank #6,781, classified as anunknown, pronounced [deːnˈzɛlbn̩]. dieselben is at rank #6,648, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [diːˈzɛlbn̩].
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 13429, this pair ranks #1,958,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of denselben vs dieselben
Shared letters: bdelns. Private to "denselben": -. Private to "dieselben": i.
"denselben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "dieselben" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "denselben" and "dieselben" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "denselben" vs "dieselben" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "denselben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dieselben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,048 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denselben" and "dieselben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denselben vs derselbe". 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 #1,958,048 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.