drittvsdritterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dritt is a num, dritter is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#12,891
“dritt” frequency rank
#3,239
“dritter” frequency rank
16130
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dritt dritter
Definition mit mit einer Gruppe aus drei Individuen etwas machen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs dritte

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
dritt
7 ch
dritter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dritt is [dʁɪt] while dritter is [ˈdʁɪtɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dritt” sits inside “dritter”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dritt is recorded at frequency rank #12,891, classified as anum, pronounced [dʁɪt]. dritter is at rank #3,239, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʁɪtɐ].

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 16130, this pair ranks #1,938,337 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dritt vs dritter

Shared letters: dirt. Private to "dritt": -. Private to "dritter": e.

"dritt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "dritter" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • drittddritt · dirtt · drit · drritt · drtit · rditt
  • dritterddritter · dirtter · driter · dritetr · dritterr · drittre · drritter · drtiter

Frequency comparison

dritt#12,891
dritter#3,239

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dritt" and "dritter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dritt" is a num and "dritter" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dritt" or "dritter"?
"dritter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,239 in our German list, against #12,891 for "dritt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dritt vs dritter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “dritt”; for an adjective, it's “dritter”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dritt” 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