dümmervsdummesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,265
“dümmer” frequency rank
#10,257
“dummes” frequency rank
27522
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dümmer dummes
Definition Prädikative und adverbielle Form des Komparativs des Adjektivs dumm Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dumm

Where the eye mixes dümmer and dummes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
dümmer
6 ch
dummes

Why the eye confuses dümmer with dummes

A purely visual mix-up. dümmer ([ˈdʏmɐ]) and dummes ([ˈdʊməs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dümmer is recorded at frequency rank #17,265, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʏmɐ]. dummes is at rank #10,257, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊməs].

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 27522, this pair ranks #1,800,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dümmer vs dummes

Shared letters: dem. Private to "dümmer": . Private to "dummes": su.

"dümmer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "dummes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dummesddummes · dmumes · dumems · dumes · dummess · dummse · udmmes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dümmer" and "dummes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdʏmɐ] versus [ˈdʊməs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dümmer" or "dummes"?
"dummes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,257 in our German list, against #17,265 for "dümmer". 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 "dümmer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dummes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,800,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dümmer" and "dummes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dämmert vs dümmer". 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 #1,800,410 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