InteressevsInteressesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#814
“Interesse” frequency rank
#16,740
“Interesses” frequency rank
17554
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Interesse Interesses
Definition Gefühl oder Einstellung, von etwas mehr wissen zu wollen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Interesse

Where the eye mixes Interesse and Interesses

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Interesse runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCCV) against Interesses's 10 (VCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Interesse
10 ch
Interesses

Why the eye confuses Interesse with Interesses

A purely visual mix-up. Interesse ([ɪntəˈʁɛsə]) and Interesses ([ɪntəˈʁɛsəs]) 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) - “Interesse” sits inside “Interesses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Interesse is recorded at frequency rank #814, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɪntəˈʁɛsə]. Interesses is at rank #16,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪntəˈʁɛsəs].

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 17554, this pair ranks #1,926,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Interesse vs Interesses

Shared letters: einrst. Private to "Interesse": -. Private to "Interesses": -.

"Interesse" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV  ·  "Interesses" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Interesse ← inetresse · innteresse · inteersse · interese · intereses · intereße · interresse · intersese
  • Interesses ← inetresses · innteresses · inteersses · interesess · interessess · interessse · intereßes · interresses

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Interesse" for "Interesses" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɪntəˈʁɛsə] versus [ɪntəˈʁɛsəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Interesse" vs "Interesses" - which ranks higher?
"Interesse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #814 in our German list, against #16,740 for "Interesses". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Interesse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Interesses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,926,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Interesse" and "Interesses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Interessent vs Interesses". 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 #1,926,340 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