SymptomvsSymptomeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#14,947
“Symptom” frequency rank
#4,939
“Symptome” frequency rank
19886
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Symptom Symptome
Definition etwas, das auf etwas anderes schließen lässt Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Symptom

Where the eye mixes Symptom and Symptome

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Symptom runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Symptome's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Symptom
8 ch
Symptome

Look-alike desk: Symptom vs Symptome

A purely visual mix-up. Symptom ([zʏmpˈtoːm]) and Symptome ([zʏmpˈtoːmə]) 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) - “Symptom” sits inside “Symptome”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Symptom is recorded at frequency rank #14,947, classified as anoun, pronounced [zʏmpˈtoːm]. Symptome is at rank #4,939, tagged as anoun, pronounced [zʏmpˈtoːmə].

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 19886, this pair ranks #1,903,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Symptom vs Symptome

Shared letters: mopsty. Private to "Symptom": -. Private to "Symptome": e.

"Symptom" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Symptome" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Symptomsmyptom · ssymptom · symmptom · sympotm · sympptom · symptmo · symptomm · sympttom
  • Symptomesmyptome · ssymptome · symmptome · sympotme · sympptome · symptmoe · symptoem · symptomme

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Symptom" for "Symptome" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zʏmpˈtoːm] versus [zʏmpˈtoːmə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Symptom" vs "Symptome" - which ranks higher?
"Symptome" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,939 in our German list, against #14,947 for "Symptom". 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 "Symptom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Symptome" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,903,568 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Symptom" and "Symptome" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Symptom vs Symptomen". 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 #1,903,568 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