Which to use
“Eleven” is a noun and “elften” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,499
- “Eleven” frequency rank
- #18,868
- “elften” frequency rank
- 59367
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Eleven | elften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Eleve | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs elfte |
Where the eye mixes Eleven and elften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Eleven (VCVCVC) and elften (VCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Eleven vs elften
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Eleven is [eˈleːvn̩] while elften is [ˈɛlftn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Eleven is recorded at frequency rank #40,499, classified as anoun, pronounced [eˈleːvn̩]. elften is at rank #18,868, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛlftn̩].
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 59367, this pair ranks #827,163 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Eleven vs elften
Shared letters: eln. Private to "Eleven": v. Private to "elften": ft.
"Eleven" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "elften" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Eleven" for "elften" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Eleven" or "elften"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Eleven" and "elften" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Eleven" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "elften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #827,163 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Eleven" and "elften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elben vs Eleven". 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 #827,163 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.