ElfenvsElternWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,886
“Elfen” frequency rank
#465
“Eltern” frequency rank
20351
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Elfen Eltern
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Elf Vater und Mutter eines Kindes

Where the eye mixes Elfen and Eltern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Elfen
6 ch
Eltern

Look-alike desk: Elfen vs Eltern

A purely visual mix-up. Elfen ([ˈɛlfn̩]) and Eltern ([ˈɛltɐn]) 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 20351, 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]. Eltern is at rank #465, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛltɐn].

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 20351, this pair ranks #1,898,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Elfen vs Eltern

Shared letters: eln. Private to "Elfen": f. Private to "Eltern": rt.

"Elfen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Eltern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Elfeneflen · elefn · elfenn · elffen · elfne · ellfen · lefen
  • Elterneletrn · elltern · eltenr · elternn · elterrn · eltren · elttern · etlern

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Elfen" and "Eltern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɛlfn̩] versus [ˈɛltɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Elfen" or "Eltern"?
"Eltern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #465 in our German list, against #19,886 for "Elfen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Elfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Eltern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,898,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Elfen" and "Eltern" 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 #1,898,639 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