PsalmvsPsalmenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#19,352
“Psalm” frequency rank
#35,394
“Psalmen” frequency rank
54746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Psalm Psalmen
Definition Gebet/Lied aus dem Buch der Psalmen, dem Psalter Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Psalm

Where the eye mixes Psalm and Psalmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Psalm runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Psalmen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Psalm
7 ch
Psalmen

Visual trap between Psalm and Psalmen

A purely visual mix-up. Psalm ([psalm]) and Psalmen ([ˈpsalmən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Psalm” sits inside “Psalmen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Psalm is recorded at frequency rank #19,352, classified as anoun, pronounced [psalm]. Psalmen is at rank #35,394, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpsalmən].

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 54746, this pair ranks #1,006,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Psalm vs Psalmen

Shared letters: almps. Private to "Psalm": -. Private to "Psalmen": en.

"Psalm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Psalmen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Psalm ← paslm · ppsalm · psallm · psalmm · psaml · pslam · pssalm · spalm
  • Psalmen ← paslmen · ppsalmen · psalemn · psallmen · psalmenn · psalmmen · psalmne · psamlen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Psalm" for "Psalmen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([psalm] versus [ˈpsalmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Psalm" or "Psalmen"?
"Psalm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,352 in our German list, against #35,394 for "Psalmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Psalm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Psalmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,006,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Psalm" and "Psalmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "palo vs Psalm". 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 #1,006,700 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