dellvsdelleTell them apart

Which to use

“dell” and “delle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,204
“dell” frequency rank
#19,865
“delle” frequency rank
38069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dell delle
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dellen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dellen

Where the eye mixes dell and delle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dell runs 4 letters (CVCC) against delle's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
dell
5 ch
delle

Why the eye confuses dell with delle

A purely visual mix-up. dell ([dɛl]) and delle ([ˈdɛlə]) 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) - “dell” sits inside “delle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dell is recorded at frequency rank #18,204, classified as averb, pronounced [dɛl]. delle is at rank #19,865, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛlə].

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 38069, this pair ranks #1,573,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dell vs delle

Shared letters: del. Private to "dell": -. Private to "delle": -.

"dell" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "delle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dell ← ddell · dlel · edll
  • delle ← ddelle · delel · dlele

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dell" and "delle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([dɛl] versus [ˈdɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dell" or "delle"?
"dell" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,204 in our German list, against #19,865 for "delle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dell" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "delle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,573,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dell" and "delle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dell vs dess". 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 #1,573,597 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list