dreistevsdritteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dreiste is a adjective, dritte is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dreiste” is an adjective and “dritte” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,049
“dreiste” frequency rank
#1,155
“dritte” frequency rank
35204
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dreiste dritte
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dreist nach dem oder der zweiten kommend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dreiste and dritte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
dreiste
6 ch
dritte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dreiste is [ˈdʁaɪ̯stə] while dritte is [ˈdʁɪtə]. 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 (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dreiste is recorded at frequency rank #34,049, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʁaɪ̯stə]. dritte is at rank #1,155, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈdʁɪtə].

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 35204, this pair ranks #1,645,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dreiste vs dritte

Shared letters: deirt. Private to "dreiste": s. Private to "dritte": -.

"dreiste" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV  ·  "dritte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dreisteddreiste · deriste · dreiset · dreisste · dreistte · dreitse · dresite · drieste
  • dritteddritte · dirtte · drite · dritet · drritte · drtite · rditte

Frequency comparison

dreiste#34,049
dritte#1,155

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dreiste" and "dritte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dreiste" is an adjective and "dritte" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dreiste" or "dritte"?
"dritte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,155 in our German list, against #34,049 for "dreiste". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dreiste vs dritte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dreiste”; for a num, it's “dritte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dreiste” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list