Which to use
“close” and “cole” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,880
- “close” frequency rank
- #16,386
- “cole” frequency rank
- 37266
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | close | cole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Sackgasse | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs cola |
Where the eye mixes close and cole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between close and cole
A purely visual mix-up. close ([kləʊz]) and cole ([ˈkɔlɛ]) 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 37266, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
close is recorded at frequency rank #20,880, classified as anoun, pronounced [kləʊz]. cole is at rank #16,386, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɔlɛ].
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 37266, this pair ranks #1,594,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of close vs cole
Shared letters: celo. Private to "close": s. Private to "cole": -.
"close" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "cole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "close" and "cole" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "close" vs "cole" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "close" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,594,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "close" and "cole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clock vs close". 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 #1,594,588 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.