Which to use
“zweite” is a num and “zweitem” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #645
- “zweite” frequency rank
- #40,349
- “zweitem” frequency rank
- 40994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zweite | zweitem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nach dem beziehungsweise der ersten kommend; dem, der beziehungsweise des dritten vorausgehend | Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs zweite |
Where the eye mixes zweite and zweitem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: zweite vs zweitem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zweite is [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tə] while zweitem is [ˈt͡svaɪ̯təm]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “zweite” sits inside “zweitem”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zweite is recorded at frequency rank #645, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tə]. zweitem is at rank #40,349, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡svaɪ̯təm].
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 40994, this pair ranks #1,492,331 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zweite vs zweitem
Shared letters: eitwz. Private to "zweite": -. Private to "zweitem": m.
"zweite" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "zweitem" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zweite" and "zweitem" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "zweite" or "zweitem" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "zweite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zweitem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,492,331 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zweite" and "zweitem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zweien vs zweitem". 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 #1,492,331 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.