Which to use
“dent” is a noun and “deute” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,993
- “dent” frequency rank
- #37,447
- “deute” frequency rank
- 70440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dent | deute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Beule, Delle | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs deuten |
Where the eye mixes dent and deute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. dent runs 4 letters (CVCC) against deute's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dent with deute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dent is [dɛnt] while deute is [ˈdɔɪ̯tə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dent is recorded at frequency rank #32,993, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɛnt]. deute is at rank #37,447, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɔɪ̯tə].
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 70440, this pair ranks #446,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dent vs deute
Shared letters: det. Private to "dent": n. Private to "deute": u.
"dent" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "deute" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dent" for "deute" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dent" or "deute"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #446,311 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dent" and "deute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deute vs devote". 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 #446,311 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.