viertevsviertesConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#3,692
“vierte” frequency rank
#21,836
“viertes” frequency rank
25528
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vierte viertes
Definition nach dem beziehungsweise der Dritten kommend; dem beziehungsweise der Fünften vorausgehend unbestimmte neutrale Deklination von vierte

Where the eye mixes vierte and viertes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vierte runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against viertes's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
vierte
7 ch
viertes

Why the eye confuses vierte with viertes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vierte is [ˈfiːɐ̯tə] while viertes is [ˈfiːɐ̯təs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “vierte” sits inside “viertes”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25528, 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]. viertes is at rank #21,836, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯təs].

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 25528, this pair ranks #1,831,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vierte vs viertes

Shared letters: eirtv. Private to "vierte": -. Private to "viertes": s.

"vierte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "viertes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vierte ← iverte · veirte · vieret · vierrte · viertte · vietre · virete · vvierte
  • viertes ← ivertes · veirtes · vierets · vierrtes · viertess · viertse · vierttes · vietres

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vierte" and "viertes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vierte" is a num and "viertes" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vierte" or "viertes"?
"vierte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,692 in our German list, against #21,836 for "viertes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "viertes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,831,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vierte" and "viertes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Viertels vs viertes". 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 #1,831,892 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