editvseiltTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,546
“edit” frequency rank
#16,395
“eilt” frequency rank
30941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature edit eilt
Definition ein Buch, eine Zeitung oder einen Film zusammenstellen oder vor der Veröffentlichung aufbereiten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eilen

Where the eye mixes edit and eilt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. edit (VCVC) and eilt (VVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
edit
4 ch
eilt

Look-alike desk: edit vs eilt

A purely visual mix-up. edit ([ˈɛdɪt]) and eilt ([aɪ̯lt]) 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 30941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

edit is recorded at frequency rank #14,546, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈɛdɪt]. eilt is at rank #16,395, tagged as averb, pronounced [aɪ̯lt].

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 30941, this pair ranks #1,737,958 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of edit vs eilt

Shared letters: eit. Private to "edit": d. Private to "eilt": l.

"edit" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "eilt" · 4 letters · shape VVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • editdeit · eddit · editt · edti · eidt
  • eilteillt · eiltt · eitl · elit · ielt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "edit" for "eilt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛdɪt] versus [aɪ̯lt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "edit" or "eilt" show up more?
"edit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,546 in our German list, against #16,395 for "eilt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "edit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eilt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,737,958 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "edit" and "eilt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilt 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 #1,737,958 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