Which to use
“Affe” and “Alf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,017
- “Affe” frequency rank
- #22,607
- “Alf” frequency rank
- 34624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Affe | Alf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Säugetier aus der Unterordnung Anthropoidea in der Ordnung der Primaten | sagenhafter Vogel mit feurigem Schweif (Ostpreußen) |
Where the eye mixes Affe and Alf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Affe and Alf
A purely visual mix-up. Affe ([ˈafə]) and Alf ([alf]) 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 34624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Affe is recorded at frequency rank #12,017, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈafə]. Alf is at rank #22,607, tagged as anoun, pronounced [alf].
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 34624, this pair ranks #1,658,992 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Affe vs Alf
Shared letters: af. Private to "Affe": e. Private to "Alf": l.
"Affe" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Alf" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Affe ← afe · afef · fafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Affe" and "Alf" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Affe" or "Alf"?
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 "Affe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Alf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,658,992 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Affe" and "Alf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Alf vs AUD". 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 #1,658,992 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.