edelvsedlesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,343
“edel” frequency rank
#38,061
“edles” frequency rank
51404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature edel edles
Definition von hochwertiger Qualität Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs edel

Where the eye mixes edel and edles

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
edel
5 ch
edles

Why the eye confuses edel with edles

A purely visual mix-up. edel ([ˈeːdl̩]) and edles ([ˈeːdləs]) 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 51404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

edel is recorded at frequency rank #13,343, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːdl̩]. edles is at rank #38,061, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːdləs].

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 51404, this pair ranks #1,136,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of edel vs edles

Shared letters: del. Private to "edel": -. Private to "edles": s.

"edel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "edles" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • edeldeel · eddel · edell · eedl
  • edlesdeles · eddles · edels · edless · edlles · edlse · eldes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "edel" and "edles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːdl̩] versus [ˈeːdləs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "edel" vs "edles" - which ranks higher?
"edel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,343 in our German list, against #38,061 for "edles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "edel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "edles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,136,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "edel" and "edles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "edles 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 #1,136,813 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