Which to use
“Elfer” and “Eltern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,527
- “Elfer” frequency rank
- #465
- “Eltern” frequency rank
- 30992
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Elfer | Eltern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit Größe, Wert, Maß oder Nummer 11 | Vater und Mutter eines Kindes |
Where the eye mixes Elfer and Eltern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Elfer with Eltern
A purely visual mix-up. Elfer ([ˈɛlfɐ]) 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 30992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Elfer is recorded at frequency rank #30,527, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛlfɐ]. 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 30992, this pair ranks #1,736,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Elfer vs Eltern
Shared letters: elr. Private to "Elfer": f. Private to "Eltern": nt.
"Elfer" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Eltern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Elfer" and "Eltern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Elfer" or "Eltern" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Elfer" 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 #1,736,934 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Elfer" and "Eltern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Efeu vs Elfer". 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 #1,736,934 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.