ElbenvsElevenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#44,558
“Elben” frequency rank
#40,499
“Eleven” frequency rank
85057
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Elben Eleven
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Elbe Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Eleve

Where the eye mixes Elben and Eleven

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Elben runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against Eleven's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Elben
6 ch
Eleven

Look-alike desk: Elben vs Eleven

A purely visual mix-up. Elben ([ˈɛlbn̩]) and Eleven ([eˈleːvn̩]) 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 85057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Elben is recorded at frequency rank #44,558, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛlbn̩]. Eleven is at rank #40,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eˈleːvn̩].

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 85057, this pair ranks #114,135 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Elben vs Eleven

Shared letters: eln. Private to "Elben": b. Private to "Eleven": v.

"Elben" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Eleven" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Elben ← eblen · elbben · elbenn · elbne · elebn · ellben
  • Eleven ← eelven · eleevn · elevenn · elevne · elevven · elleven · elveen · leeven

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Elben" and "Eleven" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛlbn̩] versus [eˈleːvn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Elben" vs "Eleven" - which ranks higher?
"Eleven" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,499 in our German list, against #44,558 for "Elben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Elben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Eleven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #114,135 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Elben" and "Eleven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elben vs Eupen". 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 #114,135 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