idealevsidoleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ideale is a adjective, idole is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ideale” is an adjective and “idole” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,966
“ideale” frequency rank
#45,359
“idole” frequency rank
51325
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ideale idole
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ideal Abgott, Abgöttin, Götze, Götzenbild, Idol

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ideale and idole apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ideale
5 ch
idole

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ideale is [ideˈʔaːlə] while idole is [i.dɔl]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ideale is recorded at frequency rank #5,966, classified as anadj, pronounced [ideˈʔaːlə]. idole is at rank #45,359, tagged as anoun, pronounced [i.dɔl].

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 51325, this pair ranks #1,139,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ideale vs idole

Shared letters: deil. Private to "ideale": a. Private to "idole": o.

"ideale" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV  ·  "idole" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • idealedieale · idaele · iddeale · ideael · idealle · idelae · iedale
  • idolediole · iddole · idloe · idoel · idolle · iodle

Frequency comparison

ideale#5,966
idole#45,359

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ideale" and "idole" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ideale" is an adjective and "idole" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ideale" or "idole"?
"ideale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,966 in our German list, against #45,359 for "idole". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ideale vs idole

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list