Which to use
“Elend” and “Elende” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,599
- “Elend” frequency rank
- #29,552
- “Elende” frequency rank
- 37151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Elend | Elende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Land außerhalb der eigenen Heimat, die Fremde, das Wohnen in der Fremde, das Wohnen im Ausland | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Elend |
Where the eye mixes Elend and Elende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Elend runs 5 letters (VCVCC) against Elende's 6 (VCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Elend and Elende
A purely visual mix-up. Elend ([ˈeːlɛnt]) and Elende ([ˈeːlɛndə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Elend” sits inside “Elende”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Elend is recorded at frequency rank #7,599, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːlɛnt]. Elende is at rank #29,552, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːlɛndə].
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 37151, this pair ranks #1,597,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Elend vs Elende
Shared letters: deln. Private to "Elend": -. Private to "Elende": -.
"Elend" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC · "Elende" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Elend" and "Elende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Elend" or "Elende"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Elend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Elende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,597,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Elend" and "Elende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elende vs elenden". 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 #1,597,529 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.