fünftenvsfünfterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,432
“fünften” frequency rank
#15,631
“fünfter” frequency rank
20063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fünften fünfter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum des Numerals fünfte unbestimmte männliche Deklination von fünfte

Where the eye mixes fünften and fünfter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. fünften and fünfter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
fünften
7 ch
fünfter

Look-alike desk: fünften vs fünfter

A purely visual mix-up. fünften ([ˈfʏnftn̩]) and fünfter ([ˈfʏnftɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “fünften” becomes r in “fünfter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fünften is recorded at frequency rank #4,432, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈfʏnftn̩]. fünfter is at rank #15,631, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈfʏnftɐ].

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 20063, this pair ranks #1,901,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fünften vs fünfter

Shared letters: efntü. Private to "fünften": -. Private to "fünfter": r.

"fünften" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "fünfter" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fünften" for "fünfter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʏnftn̩] versus [ˈfʏnftɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fünften" or "fünfter"?
"fünften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,432 in our German list, against #15,631 for "fünfter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fünften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fünfter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,901,682 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fünften" and "fünfter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fünft vs fünfter". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,901,682 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