dumpfvsdumpfeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#46,579
“dumpf” frequency rank
#41,117
“dumpfe” frequency rank
87696
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dumpf dumpfe
Definition gedämpft klingend, mit wenigen Obertönen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs dumpf

Where the eye mixes dumpf and dumpfe

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

5 ch
dumpf
6 ch
dumpfe

Look-alike desk: dumpf vs dumpfe

A purely visual mix-up. dumpf ([dʊmp͡f]) and dumpfe ([ˈdʊmp͡fə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “dumpf” sits inside “dumpfe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87696, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dumpf is recorded at frequency rank #46,579, classified as anadj, pronounced [dʊmp͡f]. dumpfe is at rank #41,117, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈdʊmp͡fə].

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 87696, this pair ranks #77,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dumpf vs dumpfe

Shared letters: dfmpu. Private to "dumpf": -. Private to "dumpfe": e.

"dumpf" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "dumpfe" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dumpfddumpf · dmupf · dumfp · dummpf · dumpff · dumppf · dupmf · udmpf
  • dumpfeddumpfe · dmupfe · dumfpe · dummpfe · dumpef · dumpffe · dumppfe · dupmfe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "dumpf" for "dumpfe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([dʊmp͡f] versus [ˈdʊmp͡fə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dumpf" vs "dumpfe" - which ranks higher?
"dumpfe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,117 in our German list, against #46,579 for "dumpf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "dumpf" and "dumpfe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dumpf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dumpfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #77,105 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dumpf" and "dumpfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dumas vs dumpf". 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 #77,105 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