viertelvsViertelsTell them apart

Quick tell: viertel is a num, Viertels is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“viertel” is a num and “Viertels” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,864
“viertel” frequency rank
#30,853
“Viertels” frequency rank
33717
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature viertel Viertels
Definition 25 Prozent des Gesamtwertes Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Viertel

Where the eye mixes viertel and Viertels

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

7 ch
viertel
8 ch
Viertels

Why the eye confuses viertel with Viertels

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: viertel is [ˈfɪʁtl̩] while Viertels is [ˈfɪʁtl̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “viertel” sits inside “Viertels”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

viertel is recorded at frequency rank #2,864, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈfɪʁtl̩]. Viertels is at rank #30,853, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɪʁtl̩s].

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 33717, this pair ranks #1,679,631 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of viertel vs Viertels

Shared letters: eilrtv. Private to "viertel": -. Private to "Viertels": s.

"viertel" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "Viertels" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • viertel ← ivertel · veirtel · vieretl · vierrtel · viertell · viertle · vierttel · vietrel
  • Viertels ← ivertels · veirtels · vieretls · vierrtels · viertells · viertelss · viertesl · viertles

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "viertel" and "Viertels" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "viertel" is a num and "Viertels" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "viertel" vs "Viertels" - which ranks higher?
"viertel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,864 in our German list, against #30,853 for "Viertels". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "viertel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Viertels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,679,631 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "viertel" and "Viertels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vierteln vs Viertels". 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 #1,679,631 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