BuckelvsBüffelTell them apart

Which to use

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

#22,289
“Buckel” frequency rank
#34,566
“Büffel” frequency rank
56855
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Buckel Büffel
Definition Rücken Angehöriger einer von mehreren Arten von afrikanischen oder asiatischen Rindern

Where the eye mixes Buckel and Büffel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Buckel
6 ch
Büffel

Look-alike desk: Buckel vs Büffel

A purely visual mix-up. Buckel ([ˈbʊkl̩]) and Büffel ([ˈbʏfl̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Buckel is recorded at frequency rank #22,289, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʊkl̩]. Büffel is at rank #34,566, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʏfl̩].

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 56855, this pair ranks #924,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Buckel vs Büffel

Shared letters: bel. Private to "Buckel": cku. Private to "Büffel": .

"Buckel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Büffel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Buckelbbuckel · bcukel · bucckel · bucekl · buckell · buckkel · buckle · bukcel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Buckel" for "Büffel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbʊkl̩] versus [ˈbʏfl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Buckel" vs "Büffel" - which ranks higher?
"Buckel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,289 in our German list, against #34,566 for "Büffel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Buckel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Büffel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #924,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Buckel" and "Büffel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Buff vs Büffel". 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 #924,052 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