EckevsEnteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,806
“Ecke” frequency rank
#10,642
“Ente” frequency rank
12448
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ecke Ente
Definition Punkt, in welchem zwei begrenzende Linien einer Fläche beziehungsweise drei oder mehr Grenzflächen eines Körpers zusammenstoßen kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell

Where the eye mixes Ecke and Ente

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Ecke and Ente follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
Ecke
4 ch
Ente

Why the eye confuses Ecke with Ente

A purely visual mix-up. Ecke ([ˈɛkə]) and Ente ([ˈɛntə]) 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 12448, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ecke is recorded at frequency rank #1,806, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛkə]. Ente is at rank #10,642, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛntə].

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 12448, this pair ranks #1,964,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ecke vs Ente

Shared letters: e. Private to "Ecke": ck. Private to "Ente": nt.

"Ecke" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ecke ← ceke · eccke · ecek · eckke · ekce
  • Ente ← enet · ennte · etne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Ecke" and "Ente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛkə] versus [ˈɛntə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ecke" or "Ente"?
"Ecke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,806 in our German list, against #10,642 for "Ente". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ecke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,964,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ecke" and "Ente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ente vs Erle". 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 #1,964,136 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