viertelvsviertenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: viertel is a num, vierten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#2,864
“viertel” frequency rank
#2,865
“vierten” frequency rank
5729
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature viertel vierten
Definition 25 Prozent des Gesamtwertes Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs vierte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set viertel and vierten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
viertel
7 ch
vierten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

viertel and vierten form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - l in “viertel” becomes n in “vierten” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5729, 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]. vierten is at rank #2,865, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfiːɐ̯tn̩].

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 5729, this pair ranks #1,993,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

viertel#2,864
vierten#2,865

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "viertel" and "vierten" be used interchangeably?
No, "viertel" and "vierten" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering viertel vs vierten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “viertel”; for an adjective, it's “vierten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “viertel” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list