blödvsbluWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,812
“blöd” frequency rank
#12,037
“blu” frequency rank
14849
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blöd blu
Definition nicht sehr intelligent (Person) oder durch mangelndes Nachdenken entstanden blau

Where the eye mixes blöd and blu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. blöd runs 4 letters (CCVC) against blu's 3 (CCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
blöd
3 ch
blu

Look-alike desk: blöd vs blu

A purely visual mix-up. blöd ([bløːt]) and blu ([blu]) 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 14849, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blöd is recorded at frequency rank #2,812, classified as anadj, pronounced [bløːt]. blu is at rank #12,037, tagged as anadj, pronounced [blu].

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 14849, this pair ranks #1,948,271 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of blöd vs blu

Shared letters: bl. Private to "blöd": dö. Private to "blu": u.

"blöd" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "blu" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "blöd" for "blu" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bløːt] versus [blu]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "blöd" or "blu" show up more?
"blöd" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,812 in our German list, against #12,037 for "blu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "blöd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "blu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,948,271 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "blöd" and "blu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bic vs blu". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,948,271 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