lettenvsletztemWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: letten is a verb, letztem is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“letten” is a verb and “letztem” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,806
“letten” frequency rank
#19,291
“letztem” frequency rank
66097
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature letten letztem
Definition Partizip Perfekt (past participle) des Verbs let Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs letzte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set letten and letztem apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
letten
7 ch
letztem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: letten is averb and letztemanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

letten is recorded at frequency rank #46,806, classified as averb, pronounced […]. letztem is at rank #19,291, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɛt͡stəm].

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 66097, this pair ranks #584,689 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of letten vs letztem

Shared letters: elt. Private to "letten": n. Private to "letztem": mz.

"letten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "letztem" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • letteneltten · leten · letetn · lettenn · lettne · lletten · lteten
  • letztemeltztem · lettzem · lettztem · letzetm · letztemm · letztme · letzttem · letzztem

Frequency comparison

letten#46,806
letztem#19,291

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "letten" and "letztem" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "letten" is a verb and "letztem" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "letten" or "letztem"?
"letztem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,291 in our German list, against #46,806 for "letten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering letten vs letztem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “letten”; for an adjective, it's “letztem”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “letten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list