Which to use
“idol” and “idole” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,619
- “idol” frequency rank
- #45,359
- “idole” frequency rank
- 62978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | idol | idole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Idol, Götzenbild, Götze, Abgott | Abgott, Abgöttin, Götze, Götzenbild, Idol |
Where the eye mixes idol and idole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. idol runs 4 letters (VCVC) against idole's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between idol and idole
A purely visual mix-up. idol ([aɪdl]) 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 extra letter(s) - “idol” sits inside “idole”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
idol is recorded at frequency rank #17,619, classified as anoun, pronounced [aɪdl]. 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 62978, this pair ranks #693,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of idol vs idole
Shared letters: dilo. Private to "idol": -. Private to "idole": e.
"idol" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "idole" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "idol" and "idole" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "idol" 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 "idol" 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 #693,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "idol" 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 #693,224 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.