Ente vs Enz, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Ente” is a noun and “Enz” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,642
“Ente” frequency rank: #43,842
“Enz” frequency rank: 54484
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Ente	Enz
Definition	kleinerer Wasservogel aus der Familie der Entenvögel (Anatidae), speziell	ein Fluss in Deutschland, Nebenfluss des Neckars

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Ente and Enz apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

Ente

3 ch

Enz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Ente is [ˈɛntə] while Enz is [ɛnt͡s]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ente is recorded at frequency rank #10,642, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɛntə]. Enz is at rank #43,842, tagged as aname, pronounced [ɛnt͡s].

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 54484, this pair ranks #1,017,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Ente vs Enz

Shared letters: en. Private to "Ente": t. Private to "Enz": z.

"Ente" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Enz" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Known mistypes of this pair

Ente ← enet · ennte · etne

Frequency comparison

Ente#10,642

Enz#43,842

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ente" and "Enz" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Ente" is a noun and "Enz" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Ente" or "Enz"?

"Ente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,642 in our German list, against #43,842 for "Enz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Ente vs Enz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Ente”; for a name, it's “Enz”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Ente” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable