Which to use
“Finale” is a noun and “finales” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,632
- “Finale” frequency rank
- #37,518
- “finales” frequency rank
- 39150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Finale | finales |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ende eines Vorgangs, Geschehens | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs final |
Where the eye mixes Finale and finales
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Finale with finales
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Finale is [fiˈnaːlə] while finales is [fiˈnaːləs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Finale” sits inside “finales”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Finale is recorded at frequency rank #1,632, classified as anoun, pronounced [fiˈnaːlə]. finales is at rank #37,518, tagged as anadj, pronounced [fiˈnaːləs].
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 39150, this pair ranks #1,544,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Finale vs finales
Shared letters: aefiln. Private to "Finale": -. Private to "finales": s.
"Finale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "finales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Finale" for "finales" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Finale" vs "finales" - 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 "Finale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "finales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,544,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Finale" and "finales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "files vs finales". 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 #1,544,744 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.