Which to use
“Idee” and “idole” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #545
- “Idee” frequency rank
- #45,359
- “idole” frequency rank
- 45904
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Idee | idole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Urbild einer Erscheinung | Abgott, Abgöttin, Götze, Götzenbild, Idol |
Where the eye mixes Idee and idole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Idee runs 4 letters (VCVV) against idole's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Idee with idole
A purely visual mix-up. Idee ([iˈdeː]) and idole ([i.dɔl]) 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 45904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Idee is recorded at frequency rank #545, classified as anoun, pronounced [iˈdeː]. 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 45904, this pair ranks #1,337,197 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Idee vs idole
Shared letters: dei. Private to "Idee": -. Private to "idole": lo.
"Idee" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "idole" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Idee" for "idole" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Idee" vs "idole" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Idee" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "idole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,337,197 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Idee" and "idole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "idole vs ile". 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 #1,337,197 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.