Which to use
“Eltern” and “Enten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #465
- “Eltern” frequency rank
- #15,072
- “Enten” frequency rank
- 15537
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Eltern | Enten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vater und Mutter eines Kindes | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ente |
Where the eye mixes Eltern and Enten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Eltern with Enten
A purely visual mix-up. Eltern ([ˈɛltɐn]) and Enten ([ˈɛntn̩]) 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 15537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Eltern is recorded at frequency rank #465, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛltɐn]. Enten is at rank #15,072, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛntn̩].
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 15537, this pair ranks #1,943,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Eltern vs Enten
Shared letters: ent. Private to "Eltern": lr. Private to "Enten": -.
"Eltern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "Enten" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Eltern" and "Enten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Eltern" or "Enten" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Eltern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Enten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,943,086 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Eltern" and "Enten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Enten 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 #1,943,086 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.