EfeuvsEkelWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,090
“Efeu” frequency rank
#17,563
“Ekel” frequency rank
65653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Efeu Ekel
Definition Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Araliengewächse (Araliaceae) starker körperlicher Abscheu

Where the eye mixes Efeu and Ekel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Efeu (VCVV) and Ekel (VCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Efeu
4 ch
Ekel

Look-alike desk: Efeu vs Ekel

A purely visual mix-up. Efeu ([ˈeːfɔɪ̯]) and Ekel ([ˈeːkl̩]) 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 65653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Efeu is recorded at frequency rank #48,090, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːfɔɪ̯]. Ekel is at rank #17,563, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːkl̩].

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 65653, this pair ranks #599,504 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Efeu vs Ekel

Shared letters: e. Private to "Efeu": fu. Private to "Ekel": kl.

"Efeu" · 4 letters · shape VCVV  ·  "Ekel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Efeu ← eefu · effeu · efue · feeu
  • Ekel ← eekl · ekell · ekkel · keel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Efeu" for "Ekel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːfɔɪ̯] versus [ˈeːkl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Efeu" vs "Ekel" - which ranks higher?
"Ekel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,563 in our German list, against #48,090 for "Efeu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Efeu" and "Ekel" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Efeu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ekel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #599,504 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Efeu" and "Ekel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Efeu vs Elfe". 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 #599,504 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