Which to use
“Elfen” is a noun and “elften” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,886
- “Elfen” frequency rank
- #18,868
- “elften” frequency rank
- 38754
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Elfen | elften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Elf | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs elfte |
Where the eye mixes Elfen and elften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Elfen with elften
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Elfen is [ˈɛlfn̩] while elften is [ˈɛlftn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Elfen is recorded at frequency rank #19,886, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛlfn̩]. 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 38754, this pair ranks #1,555,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Elfen vs elften
Shared letters: efln. Private to "Elfen": -. Private to "elften": t.
"Elfen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "elften" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Elfen" for "elften" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Elfen" or "elften" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Elfen" 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 #1,555,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Elfen" and "elften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elfen 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 #1,555,500 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.