dummenvsdümmstenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“dummen” and “dümmsten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,032
“dummen” frequency rank
#30,014
“dümmsten” frequency rank
37046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dummen dümmsten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dumm Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs dumm

Where the eye mixes dummen and dümmsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
dummen
8 ch
dümmsten

Visual trap between dummen and dümmsten

A purely visual mix-up. dummen ([ˈdʊmən]) and dümmsten ([ˈdʏmstn̩]) 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 37046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dummen is recorded at frequency rank #7,032, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊmən]. dümmsten is at rank #30,014, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏmstn̩].

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 37046, this pair ranks #1,600,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dummen vs dümmsten

Shared letters: demn. Private to "dummen": u. Private to "dümmsten": stü.

"dummen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "dümmsten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dummenddummen · dmumen · dumemn · dumen · dummenn · dummne · udmmen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "dummen" for "dümmsten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʊmən] versus [ˈdʏmstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "dummen" or "dümmsten" show up more?
"dummen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,032 in our German list, against #30,014 for "dümmsten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dummen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dümmsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,600,179 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dummen" and "dümmsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dummen vs Dummies". 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 #1,600,179 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list