Which to use
“Elfe” and “Ente” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,837
- “Elfe” frequency rank
- #10,642
- “Ente” frequency rank
- 54479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Elfe | Ente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weibliches Fabelwesen mit menschlicher/menschenähnlicher Gestalt | kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell |
Where the eye mixes Elfe and Ente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Elfe and Ente follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Elfe and Ente
A purely visual mix-up. Elfe ([ˈɛlfə]) and Ente ([ˈɛntə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Elfe is recorded at frequency rank #43,837, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛlfə]. Ente is at rank #10,642, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛntə].
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 54479, this pair ranks #1,017,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Elfe vs Ente
Shared letters: e. Private to "Elfe": fl. Private to "Ente": nt.
"Elfe" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Elfe" and "Ente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Elfe" vs "Ente" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Elfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,017,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Elfe" and "Ente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elfe 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 #1,017,282 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.