direktemvsdirektenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,569
“direktem” frequency rank
#3,237
“direkten” frequency rank
24806
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature direktem direkten
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs direkt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs direkt

Where the eye mixes direktem and direkten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. direktem and direkten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
direktem
8 ch
direkten

Look-alike desk: direktem vs direkten

A purely visual mix-up. direktem ([diˈʁɛktəm]) and direkten ([diˈʁɛktn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - m in “direktem” becomes n in “direkten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

direktem is recorded at frequency rank #21,569, classified as anadj, pronounced [diˈʁɛktəm]. direkten is at rank #3,237, tagged as anadj, pronounced [diˈʁɛktn̩].

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 24806, this pair ranks #1,842,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of direktem vs direkten

Shared letters: deikrt. Private to "direktem": m. Private to "direkten": n.

"direktem" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "direkten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • direktemddirektem · dierktem · direketm · direkktem · direktemm · direktme · direkttem · diretkem
  • direktenddirekten · dierkten · direketn · direkkten · direktenn · direktne · direktten · diretken

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "direktem" for "direkten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([diˈʁɛktəm] versus [diˈʁɛktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "direktem" or "direkten" show up more?
"direkten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,237 in our German list, against #21,569 for "direktem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "direktem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "direkten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,842,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "direktem" and "direkten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "direktem vs direktes". 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 #1,842,460 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