BildervsboulderConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#657
“Bilder” frequency rank
#47,283
“boulder” frequency rank
47940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bilder boulder
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Bild einzelner Felsbrocken/Felsblock, theoretisch beweglich, mehr oder weniger rund

Where the eye mixes Bilder and boulder

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Bilder
7 ch
boulder

Visual trap between Bilder and boulder

A purely visual mix-up. Bilder ([ˈbɪldɐ]) and boulder ([ˈbəʊldəʳ]) 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 47940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bilder is recorded at frequency rank #657, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɪldɐ]. boulder is at rank #47,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbəʊldəʳ].

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 47940, this pair ranks #1,266,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Bilder vs boulder

Shared letters: bdelr. Private to "Bilder": i. Private to "boulder": ou.

"Bilder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "boulder" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bilderbbilder · bidler · bildder · bilderr · bildre · biledr · billder · blider
  • boulderbboulder · boluder · boudler · bouldder · boulderr · bouldre · bouledr · boullder

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Bilder" and "boulder" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪldɐ] versus [ˈbəʊldəʳ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Bilder" or "boulder" show up more?
"Bilder" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #657 in our German list, against #47,283 for "boulder". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Bilder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "boulder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,266,512 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bilder" and "boulder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "boiler vs boulder". 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 #1,266,512 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