Which to use
“vierte” and “viertel” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,692
- “vierte” frequency rank
- #2,864
- “viertel” frequency rank
- 6556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vierte | viertel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach dem beziehungsweise der Dritten kommend; dem beziehungsweise der Fünften vorausgehend | 25 Prozent des Gesamtwertes |
Where the eye mixes vierte and viertel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vierte runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against viertel's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vierte with viertel
A purely visual mix-up. vierte ([ˈfiːɐ̯tə]) and viertel ([ˈfɪʁtl̩]) 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) - “vierte” sits inside “viertel”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vierte is recorded at frequency rank #3,692, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯tə]. viertel is at rank #2,864, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈfɪʁtl̩].
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 6556, this pair ranks #1,991,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vierte vs viertel
Shared letters: eirtv. Private to "vierte": -. Private to "viertel": l.
"vierte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "viertel" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vierte" for "viertel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "vierte" vs "viertel" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vierte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "viertel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,991,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vierte" and "viertel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vierte vs Visite". 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 #1,991,238 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.