edlevsedlenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,415
“edle” frequency rank
#11,634
“edlen” frequency rank
23049
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature edle edlen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs edel Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs edel

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set edle and edlen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
edle
5 ch
edlen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. edle ([ˈeːdlə]) and edlen ([ˈeːdlən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “edle” sits inside “edlen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

edle is recorded at frequency rank #11,415, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːdlə]. edlen is at rank #11,634, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːdlən].

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 23049, this pair ranks #1,866,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of edle vs edlen

Shared letters: del. Private to "edle": -. Private to "edlen": n.

"edle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "edlen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • edledele · eddle · edlle · elde
  • edlendelen · eddlen · edeln · edlenn · edllen · edlne · elden

Frequency comparison

edle#11,415
edlen#11,634

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "edle" and "edlen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːdlə] versus [ˈeːdlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "edle" or "edlen"?
"edle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,415 in our German list, against #11,634 for "edlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering edle vs edlen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “edle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list