AalevsAkneConfusable pair

Which to use

“Aale” and “Akne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#47,176
“Aale” frequency rank
#30,905
“Akne” frequency rank
78081
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aale Akne
Definition Dativ Singular des Substantivs Aal krankhafte Veränderung der Haut mit Bildung entzündlicher Pusteln

Where the eye mixes Aale and Akne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Aale (VVCV) and Akne (VCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Aale
4 ch
Akne

Why the eye confuses Aale with Akne

A purely visual mix-up. Aale ([ˈaːlə]) and Akne ([ˈaknə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aale is recorded at frequency rank #47,176, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːlə]. Akne is at rank #30,905, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaknə].

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 78081, this pair ranks #246,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Aale vs Akne

Shared letters: ae. Private to "Aale": l. Private to "Akne": kn.

"Aale" · 4 letters · shape VVCV  ·  "Akne" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aale ← aael · aalle · alae
  • Akne ← aken · akkne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Aale" and "Akne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaːlə] versus [ˈaknə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Aale" or "Akne" show up more?
"Akne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,905 in our German list, against #47,176 for "Aale". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Aale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Akne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #246,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Aale" and "Akne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aale vs Atze". 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 #246,251 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