Which to use
“fünft” is a num and “fünftel” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,828
- “fünft” frequency rank
- #18,551
- “fünftel” frequency rank
- 60379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fünft | fünftel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit mit einer Gruppe aus fünf Individuen etwas machen | aus einem von fünf gleich großen Teilen bestehend |
Where the eye mixes fünft and fünftel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fünft runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against fünftel's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fünft and fünftel
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fünft is [fʏnft] while fünftel is [ˈfʏnftl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fünft” sits inside “fünftel”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fünft is recorded at frequency rank #41,828, classified as anum, pronounced [fʏnft]. fünftel is at rank #18,551, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʏnftl̩].
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 60379, this pair ranks #789,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fünft vs fünftel
Shared letters: fntü. Private to "fünft": -. Private to "fünftel": el.
"fünft" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "fünftel" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fünft" for "fünftel" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fünft" or "fünftel" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fünft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fünftel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #789,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fünft" and "fünftel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fünft vs funzt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #789,220 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.