Which to use
“dead” and “delay” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,587
- “dead” frequency rank
- #28,143
- “delay” frequency rank
- 35730
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dead | delay |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Tote, die Toten, die Tote | Aufenthalt |
Where the eye mixes dead and delay
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dead vs delay
A purely visual mix-up. dead ([dɛd]) and delay ([dɪˈleɪ]) 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 35730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dead is recorded at frequency rank #7,587, classified as anoun, pronounced [dɛd]. delay is at rank #28,143, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dɪˈleɪ].
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 35730, this pair ranks #1,632,949 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dead vs delay
Shared letters: ade. Private to "dead": -. Private to "delay": ly.
"dead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "delay" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dead" for "delay" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dead" vs "delay" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "dead" and "delay" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "delay" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,632,949 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dead" and "delay" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjà vs delay". 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 #1,632,949 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.