dellevsDuellWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: delle is a verb, Duell is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“delle” is a verb and “Duell” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,865
“delle” frequency rank
#5,933
“Duell” frequency rank
25798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature delle Duell
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs dellen ein meist nach zuvor festgelegten Regeln ausgetragener Zweikampf mit Waffen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set delle and Duell apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
delle
5 ch
Duell

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: delle is [ˈdɛlə] while Duell is [duˈɛl]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

delle is recorded at frequency rank #19,865, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈdɛlə]. Duell is at rank #5,933, tagged as anoun, pronounced [duˈɛl].

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 25798, this pair ranks #1,827,827 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of delle vs Duell

Shared letters: del. Private to "delle": -. Private to "Duell": u.

"delle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Duell" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • delleddelle · delel · dlele
  • Duelldduell · deull · duel · dulel · udell

Frequency comparison

delle#19,865
Duell#5,933

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "delle" and "Duell" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "delle" is a verb and "Duell" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "delle" or "Duell"?
"Duell" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,933 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.

Remembering delle vs Duell

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “delle”; for a noun, it's “Duell”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “delle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list