DienstagvsDienstenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,917
“Dienstag” frequency rank
#7,454
“Diensten” frequency rank
9371
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dienstag Diensten
Definition zweiter Wochentag gemäß ISO 8601; dritter Wochentag nach jüdischer, christlicher und islamischer Zählung; Tag zwischen Montag und Mittwoch Dativ Plural des Substantivs Dienst

Where the eye mixes Dienstag and Diensten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Dienstag and Diensten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Dienstag
8 ch
Diensten

Visual trap between Dienstag and Diensten

A purely visual mix-up. Dienstag ([ˈdiːnsˌtaːk]) and Diensten ([ˈdiːnstn̩]) 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 9371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dienstag is recorded at frequency rank #1,917, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdiːnsˌtaːk]. Diensten is at rank #7,454, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdiːnstn̩].

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 9371, this pair ranks #1,980,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Dienstag vs Diensten

Shared letters: deinst. Private to "Dienstag": ag. Private to "Diensten": -.

"Dienstag" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "Diensten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dienstag ← ddienstag · deinstag · diennstag · diensatg · diensstag · dienstagg · dienstga · diensttag
  • Diensten ← ddiensten · deinsten · diennsten · diensetn · dienssten · dienstenn · dienstne · dienstten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Dienstag" for "Diensten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdiːnsˌtaːk] versus [ˈdiːnstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Dienstag" or "Diensten"?
"Dienstag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,917 in our German list, against #7,454 for "Diensten". 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 "Dienstag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Diensten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dienstag" and "Diensten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dicksten vs Diensten". 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 #1,980,270 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