Which to use
“dritte” is a num and “Dritteln” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,155
- “dritte” frequency rank
- #33,003
- “Dritteln” frequency rank
- 34158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dritte | Dritteln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach dem oder der zweiten kommend | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Drittel |
Where the eye mixes dritte and Dritteln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dritte vs Dritteln
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dritte is [ˈdʁɪtə] while Dritteln is [ˈdʁɪtl̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dritte” sits inside “Dritteln”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dritte is recorded at frequency rank #1,155, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈdʁɪtə]. Dritteln is at rank #33,003, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdʁɪtl̩n].
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 34158, this pair ranks #1,669,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dritte vs Dritteln
Shared letters: deirt. Private to "dritte": -. Private to "Dritteln": ln.
"dritte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "Dritteln" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dritte" for "Dritteln" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "dritte" or "Dritteln" show up more?
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 "dritte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Dritteln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,669,787 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dritte" and "Dritteln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Datteln vs Dritteln". 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 #1,669,787 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.