EckevsErdeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,806
“Ecke” frequency rank
#1,073
“Erde” frequency rank
2879
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ecke Erde
Definition Punkt, in welchem zwei begrenzende Linien einer Fläche beziehungsweise drei oder mehr Grenzflächen eines Körpers zusammenstoßen der feste Boden, die Landoberfläche von ^([3])

Where the eye mixes Ecke and Erde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Ecke
4 ch
Erde

Look-alike desk: Ecke vs Erde

A purely visual mix-up. Ecke ([ˈɛkə]) and Erde ([ˈeːɐ̯də]) 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 2879, 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]. Erde is at rank #1,073, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯də].

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 2879, this pair ranks #2,001,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ecke vs Erde

Shared letters: e. Private to "Ecke": ck. Private to "Erde": dr.

"Ecke" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "Erde" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Eckeceke · eccke · ecek · eckke · ekce
  • Erdeedre · erdde · ered · errde

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ecke" and "Erde" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛkə] versus [ˈeːɐ̯də]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Ecke" vs "Erde" - which ranks higher?
"Erde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,073 in our German list, against #1,806 for "Ecke". 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 "Ecke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,001,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ecke" and "Erde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ecke 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 #2,001,386 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