ViertelnvsviertesTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#24,565
“Vierteln” frequency rank
#21,836
“viertes” frequency rank
46401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vierteln viertes
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Viertel unbestimmte neutrale Deklination von vierte

Where the eye mixes Vierteln and viertes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Vierteln runs 8 letters (CVVCCVCC) against viertes's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Vierteln
7 ch
viertes

Why the eye confuses Vierteln with viertes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vierteln is [ˈfɪʁtl̩n] while viertes is [ˈfiːɐ̯təs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vierteln is recorded at frequency rank #24,565, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɪʁtl̩n]. 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 46401, this pair ranks #1,320,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Vierteln vs viertes

Shared letters: eirtv. Private to "Vierteln": ln. Private to "viertes": s.

"Vierteln" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "viertes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vierteln ← iverteln · veirteln · vieretln · vierrteln · viertelln · viertelnn · viertenl · viertlen
  • viertes ← ivertes · veirtes · vierets · vierrtes · viertess · viertse · vierttes · vietres

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Vierteln" and "viertes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vierteln" is a noun and "viertes" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vierteln" or "viertes"?
"viertes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,836 in our German list, against #24,565 for "Vierteln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vierteln" 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 #1,320,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vierteln" and "viertes" 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 #1,320,365 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