Which to use
“Defekte” and “defence” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,554
- “Defekte” frequency rank
- #43,097
- “defence” frequency rank
- 60651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Defekte | defence |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Defekt | Verteidigung, Verteidigungskunst, Schutz |
Where the eye mixes Defekte and defence
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Defekte and defence follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Defekte with defence
A purely visual mix-up. Defekte ([deˈfɛktə]) and defence ([dɪˈfɛns]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Defekte is recorded at frequency rank #17,554, classified as anoun, pronounced [deˈfɛktə]. defence is at rank #43,097, tagged as anoun, pronounced [dɪˈfɛns].
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 60651, this pair ranks #779,020 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Defekte vs defence
Shared letters: def. Private to "Defekte": kt. Private to "defence": cn.
"Defekte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "defence" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Defekte" and "defence" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Defekte" or "defence"?
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 "Defekte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defence" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #779,020 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Defekte" and "defence" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defence vs defender". 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 #779,020 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.