Which to use
“fünftel” is an adjective and “fünften” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,551
- “fünftel” frequency rank
- #4,432
- “fünften” frequency rank
- 22983
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fünftel | fünften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aus einem von fünf gleich großen Teilen bestehend | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum des Numerals fünfte |
Where the eye mixes fünftel and fünften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fünftel and fünften follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses fünftel with fünften
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fünftel is [ˈfʏnftl̩] while fünften is [ˈfʏnftn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “fünftel” becomes n in “fünften”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fünftel is recorded at frequency rank #18,551, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʏnftl̩]. fünften is at rank #4,432, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈfʏnftn̩].
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 22983, this pair ranks #1,867,231 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fünftel vs fünften
Shared letters: efntü. Private to "fünftel": l. Private to "fünften": -.
"fünftel" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "fünften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fünftel" for "fünften" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "fünftel" or "fünften" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fünftel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fünften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,867,231 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fünftel" and "fünften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fünft vs fünftel". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,867,231 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.