Which to use
“derselbe” is a pronoun and “dieselbe” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,168
- “derselbe” frequency rank
- #4,258
- “dieselbe” frequency rank
- 13426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | derselbe | dieselbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bezeichnet die Identität mit einem vorausgegangenen oder bekannten Ding im Gegensatz zu einem anderen Ding derselben Art, für das "der gleiche" zu verwenden ist | Nominativ Singular Femininum des Pronomens derselbe |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set derselbe and dieselbe 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: derselbe is [deːɐ̯ˈzɛlbə] while dieselbe is [diːˈzɛlbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
derselbe is recorded at frequency rank #9,168, classified as apron, pronounced [deːɐ̯ˈzɛlbə]. dieselbe is at rank #4,258, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [diːˈzɛlbə].
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 13426, this pair ranks #1,958,063 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of derselbe vs dieselbe
Shared letters: bdels. Private to "derselbe": r. Private to "dieselbe": i.
"derselbe" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "dieselbe" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "derselbe" and "dieselbe" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "derselbe" or "dieselbe"?
Remembering derselbe vs dieselbe
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “derselbe”; for an unknown, it's “dieselbe”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “derselbe” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable