Which to use
“dritte” is a num and “dritten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,155
- “dritte” frequency rank
- #965
- “dritten” frequency rank
- 2120
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dritte | dritten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach dem oder der zweiten kommend | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs dritte |
Where the eye mixes dritte and dritten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dritte with dritten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dritte is [ˈdʁɪtə] while dritten is [ˈdʁɪtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dritte” sits inside “dritten”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2120, 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]. dritten is at rank #965, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʁɪtn̩].
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 2120, this pair ranks #2,003,065 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dritte vs dritten
Shared letters: deirt. Private to "dritte": -. Private to "dritten": n.
"dritte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "dritten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dritte" and "dritten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "dritte" or "dritten" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dritte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dritten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,065 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dritte" and "dritten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Drift vs dritte". 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 #2,003,065 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.