Which to use
“dumme” and “dümmste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,804
- “dumme” frequency rank
- #20,221
- “dümmste” frequency rank
- 24025
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dumme | dümmste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs dumm | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs dumm |
Where the eye mixes dumme and dümmste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dumme and dümmste
A purely visual mix-up. dumme ([ˈdʊmə]) and dümmste ([ˈdʏmstə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24025, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dumme is recorded at frequency rank #3,804, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊmə]. dümmste is at rank #20,221, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏmstə].
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 24025, this pair ranks #1,853,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dumme vs dümmste
Shared letters: dem. Private to "dumme": u. Private to "dümmste": stü.
"dumme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dümmste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- dumme ← ddumme · dmume · dume · dumem · udmme
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dumme" for "dümmste" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dumme" vs "dümmste" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dumme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dümmste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,853,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dumme" and "dümmste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dumme vs Düne". 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 #1,853,335 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.