Which to use
“degli” and “della” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,845
- “degli” frequency rank
- #11,845
- “della” frequency rank
- 57690
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | degli | della |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Verschmelzung der Präposition di mit dem bestimmten Artikel gli | Verschmelzung der Präposition di mit dem bestimmten Artikel la |
Where the eye mixes degli and della
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. degli and della follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses degli with della
A purely visual mix-up. degli ([ˈdeʎʎi]) and della ([ˈdella]) 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 57690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
degli is recorded at frequency rank #45,845, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈdeʎʎi]. della is at rank #11,845, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈdella].
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 57690, this pair ranks #891,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of degli vs della
Shared letters: del. Private to "degli": gi. Private to "della": a.
"degli" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "della" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "degli" and "della" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "degli" or "della"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "degli" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "della" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #891,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "degli" and "della" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degli vs demi". 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 #891,460 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.