viertvsvierterConfusable pair

Quick tell: viert is a num, vierter is an unknown, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“viert” is a num and “vierter” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,821
“viert” frequency rank
#10,965
“vierter” frequency rank
36786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature viert vierter
Definition mit mit einer Gruppe aus vier Individuen etwas machen unbestimmte männliche Deklination von vierte

Where the eye mixes viert and vierter

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

5 ch
viert
7 ch
vierter

Visual trap between viert and vierter

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: viert is [fiːɐ̯t] while vierter is [ˈfiːɐ̯tɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “viert” sits inside “vierter”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

viert is recorded at frequency rank #25,821, classified as anum, pronounced [fiːɐ̯t]. vierter is at rank #10,965, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯tɐ].

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 36786, this pair ranks #1,606,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of viert vs vierter

Shared letters: eirtv. Private to "viert": -. Private to "vierter": -.

"viert" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "vierter" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • viert ← ivert · veirt · vierrt · viertt · vietr · viret · vviert
  • vierter ← iverter · veirter · vieretr · vierrter · vierterr · viertre · viertter · vietrer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "viert" for "vierter" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "viert" is a num and "vierter" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "viert" or "vierter" show up more?
"vierter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,965 in our German list, against #25,821 for "viert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "viert" and "vierter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "viert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vierter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,606,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "viert" and "vierter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "viert vs Viper". 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 #1,606,717 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