Which to use
“dessen” is a pronoun and “Devisen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #392
- “dessen” frequency rank
- #23,476
- “Devisen” frequency rank
- 23868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dessen | Devisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | maskuliner und neutraler Genitiv des Relativpronomens der, auch als deiktische Entsprechung zum Possessivartikel sein | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Devise |
Where the eye mixes dessen and Devisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dessen with Devisen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dessen is [ˈdɛsn̩] while Devisen is [deˈviːzn̩]. 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 (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dessen is recorded at frequency rank #392, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈdɛsn̩]. Devisen is at rank #23,476, tagged as anoun, pronounced [deˈviːzn̩].
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 23868, this pair ranks #1,855,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dessen vs Devisen
Shared letters: dens. Private to "dessen": -. Private to "Devisen": iv.
"dessen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Devisen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dessen" for "Devisen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "dessen" or "Devisen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dessen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Devisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,855,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dessen" and "Devisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dess vs dessen". 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 #1,855,536 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.