dass vs dens, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dass” is a verb and “dens” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,593
“dass” frequency rank: #34,854
“dens” frequency rank: 77447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dass	dens
Definition	To dare.	plural of den

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dass and dens apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

dass

4 ch

dens

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dass is /dæs/ while dens is /dɛnz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dass is recorded at frequency rank #42,593, classified as averb, pronounced /dæs/. dens is at rank #34,854, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɛnz/.

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 77447, this pair ranks #27,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dass vs dens

Shared letters: ds. Private to "dass": a. Private to "dens": en.

"dass" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "dens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

dass ← adss · ddass · dsas
dens ← ddens · denns · denss · desn · dnes

Frequency comparison

dass#42,593

dens#34,854

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dass" and "dens" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dass" is a verb and "dens" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "dass" or "dens"?

"dens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,854 in our English list, against #42,593 for "dass". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dass vs dens

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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