DokumentvsDokumenteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,160
“Dokument” frequency rank
#4,189
“Dokumente” frequency rank
9349
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dokument Dokumente
Definition amtliches Schriftstück Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Dokument

Where the eye mixes Dokument and Dokumente

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Dokument
9 ch
Dokumente

Look-alike desk: Dokument vs Dokumente

A purely visual mix-up. Dokument ([ˌdokuˈmɛnt]) and Dokumente ([ˌdokuˈmɛntə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Dokument” sits inside “Dokumente”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dokument is recorded at frequency rank #5,160, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌdokuˈmɛnt]. Dokumente is at rank #4,189, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌdokuˈmɛntə].

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 9349, this pair ranks #1,980,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Dokument vs Dokumente

Shared letters: dekmnotu. Private to "Dokument": -. Private to "Dokumente": -.

"Dokument" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC  ·  "Dokumente" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dokumentddokument · dkoument · dokkument · dokmuent · dokuemnt · dokumennt · dokumentt · dokumetn
  • Dokumenteddokumente · dkoumente · dokkumente · dokmuente · dokuemnte · dokumenet · dokumennte · dokumentte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Dokument" and "Dokumente" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌdokuˈmɛnt] versus [ˌdokuˈmɛntə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Dokument" or "Dokumente" show up more?
"Dokumente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,189 in our German list, against #5,160 for "Dokument". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dokument" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dokumente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dokument" and "Dokumente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "documents vs Dokument". 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 #1,980,377 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