Which to use
“col” and “coll” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,860
- “col” frequency rank
- #42,406
- “coll” frequency rank
- 62266
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | col | coll |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | veraltend, die für einen Körperteil wie den Hals freie Stelle | der Hals, das Genick |
Where the eye mixes col and coll
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: col vs coll
A purely visual mix-up. col ([kɔl]) and coll ([kɔʎ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “col” sits inside “coll”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62266, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
col is recorded at frequency rank #19,860, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɔl]. coll is at rank #42,406, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɔʎ].
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 62266, this pair ranks #719,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of col vs coll
Shared letters: clo. Private to "col": -. Private to "coll": -.
"col" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "coll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- coll ← ccoll · clol · ocll
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "col" for "coll" ever safe?
Which is more common, "col" or "coll"?
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 "col" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coll" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #719,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "col" and "coll" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cali vs coll". 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 #719,257 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.