elftevsErftTell them apart

Quick tell: elfte is a num, Erft is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“elfte” is a num and “Erft” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,024
“elfte” frequency rank
#24,697
“Erft” frequency rank
55721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature elfte Erft
Definition nach dem beziehungsweise der zehnten kommend; dem zwölften vorausgehend ein Fluss in Deutschland, Nebenfluss des Rheins

Where the eye mixes elfte and Erft

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
elfte
4 ch
Erft

Look-alike desk: elfte vs Erft

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: elfte is [ˈɛlftə] while Erft is [ɛʁft]. 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 (num vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

elfte is recorded at frequency rank #31,024, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈɛlftə]. Erft is at rank #24,697, tagged as aname, pronounced [ɛʁft].

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 55721, this pair ranks #968,394 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of elfte vs Erft

Shared letters: eft. Private to "elfte": l. Private to "Erft": r.

"elfte" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "Erft" · 4 letters · shape VCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • elfteeflte · elfet · elffte · elftte · ellfte · eltfe · lefte
  • Erftefrt · erfft · erftt · errft · ertf · reft

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "elfte" for "Erft" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "elfte" is a num and "Erft" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "elfte" vs "Erft" - which ranks higher?
"Erft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,697 in our German list, against #31,024 for "elfte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "elfte" and "Erft" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "elfte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Erft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #968,394 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "elfte" and "Erft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Elfe vs elfte". 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 #968,394 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