EkelvsEnkelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,563
“Ekel” frequency rank
#6,291
“Enkel” frequency rank
23854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ekel Enkel
Definition starker körperlicher Abscheu (männliches) Kind des eigenen Sohnes oder der eigenen Tochter

Where the eye mixes Ekel and Enkel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Ekel runs 4 letters (VCVC) against Enkel's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Ekel
5 ch
Enkel

Visual trap between Ekel and Enkel

A purely visual mix-up. Ekel ([ˈeːkl̩]) and Enkel ([ˈɛŋkl̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ekel is recorded at frequency rank #17,563, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːkl̩]. Enkel is at rank #6,291, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛŋkl̩].

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 23854, this pair ranks #1,855,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ekel vs Enkel

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Ekel": -. Private to "Enkel": n.

"Ekel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Enkel" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ekel ← eekl · ekell · ekkel · keel
  • Enkel ← eknel · enekl · enkell · enkkel · enkle · ennkel · nekel

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ekel" and "Enkel" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈeːkl̩] versus [ˈɛŋkl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ekel" or "Enkel"?
"Enkel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,291 in our German list, against #17,563 for "Ekel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ekel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Enkel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,855,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ekel" and "Enkel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Efeu vs Ekel". 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 #1,855,732 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