Which to use
“eilte” is a verb and “Elke” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,258
- “eilte” frequency rank
- #13,806
- “Elke” frequency rank
- 41064
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilte | Elke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen | weiblicher Vorname |
Where the eye mixes eilte and Elke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between eilte and Elke
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilte is [ˈaɪ̯ltə] while Elke is [ˈɛlkə]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41064, 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]. Elke is at rank #13,806, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈɛlkə].
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 41064, this pair ranks #1,490,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eilte vs Elke
Shared letters: el. Private to "eilte": it. Private to "Elke": k.
"eilte" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV · "Elke" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eilte" and "Elke" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "eilte" or "Elke" show up more?
What to do next
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 "Elke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,490,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilte" and "Elke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilte 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 #1,490,411 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.