Which to use
“Adel” and “Apfel” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,215
- “Adel” frequency rank
- #6,628
- “Apfel” frequency rank
- 16843
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Adel | Apfel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch Abstammung oder besondere Leistungen privilegierte Schicht | rundliche Frucht des Apfelbaums mit Schale, Fruchtfleisch und Kerngehäuse |
Where the eye mixes Adel and Apfel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Adel vs Apfel
A purely visual mix-up. Adel ([ˈaːdl̩]) and Apfel ([ˈap͡fl̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Adel is recorded at frequency rank #10,215, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaːdl̩]. Apfel is at rank #6,628, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈap͡fl̩].
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 16843, this pair ranks #1,932,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Adel vs Apfel
Shared letters: ael. Private to "Adel": d. Private to "Apfel": fp.
"Adel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "Apfel" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Adel" for "Apfel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Adel" vs "Apfel" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Adel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Apfel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,932,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Adel" and "Apfel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Adel vs apel". 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 #1,932,556 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.