AmpelnvsAmselWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,120
“Ampeln” frequency rank
#42,326
“Amsel” frequency rank
61446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ampeln Amsel
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ampel großer, schwarzer Singvogel mit gelbem Schnabel aus der Familie der Drosseln

Where the eye mixes Ampeln and Amsel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Ampeln
5 ch
Amsel

Why the eye confuses Ampeln with Amsel

A purely visual mix-up. Ampeln ([ˈampl̩n]) and Amsel ([ˈamzəl]) 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 61446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ampeln is recorded at frequency rank #19,120, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈampl̩n]. Amsel is at rank #42,326, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈamzəl].

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 61446, this pair ranks #749,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ampeln vs Amsel

Shared letters: aelm. Private to "Ampeln": np. Private to "Amsel": s.

"Ampeln" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Amsel" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ampelnamepln · ammpeln · ampelln · ampelnn · ampenl · amplen · amppeln · apmeln
  • Amselamesl · ammsel · amsell · amsle · amssel · asmel · masel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ampeln" for "Amsel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈampl̩n] versus [ˈamzəl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ampeln" or "Amsel"?
"Ampeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,120 in our German list, against #42,326 for "Amsel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Ampeln" and "Amsel" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ampeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Amsel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #749,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ampeln" and "Amsel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Amsel 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 #749,452 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