Which to use
“eilte” is a verb and “Elfe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,258
- “eilte” frequency rank
- #43,837
- “Elfe” frequency rank
- 71095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilte | Elfe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen | weibliches Fabelwesen mit menschlicher/menschenähnlicher Gestalt |
Where the eye mixes eilte and Elfe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: eilte vs Elfe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilte is [ˈaɪ̯ltə] while Elfe is [ˈɛlfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilte is recorded at frequency rank #27,258, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltə]. Elfe is at rank #43,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛlfə].
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 71095, this pair ranks #426,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of eilte vs Elfe
Shared letters: el. Private to "eilte": it. Private to "Elfe": f.
"eilte" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV · "Elfe" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eilte" for "Elfe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "eilte" or "Elfe" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Elfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilte" and "Elfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elfe 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 #426,906 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.