DödelvsDoseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#45,228
“Dödel” frequency rank
#8,345
“Dose” frequency rank
53573
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Dödel Dose
Definition wenig intelligenter, einfältiger Mensch kleiner Behälter mit Deckel zur Aufbewahrung von Objekten

Where the eye mixes Dödel and Dose

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Dödel runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Dose's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Dödel
4 ch
Dose

Look-alike desk: Dödel vs Dose

A purely visual mix-up. Dödel ([ˈdøːdl̩]) and Dose ([ˈdoːzə]) 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 53573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Dödel is recorded at frequency rank #45,228, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈdøːdl̩]. Dose is at rank #8,345, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdoːzə].

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 53573, this pair ranks #1,052,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Dödel vs Dose

Shared letters: de. Private to "Dödel": lö. Private to "Dose": os.

"Dödel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Dose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Dose ← ddose · dosse · dsoe · odse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Dödel" for "Dose" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈdøːdl̩] versus [ˈdoːzə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Dödel" or "Dose" show up more?
"Dose" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,345 in our German list, against #45,228 for "Dödel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Dödel" and "Dose" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Dödel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Dose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,052,703 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Dödel" and "Dose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dödel vs dudes". 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 #1,052,703 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