Which to use
“Illustration” and “Illustrationen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,945
- “Illustration” frequency rank
- #15,919
- “Illustrationen” frequency rank
- 33864
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Illustration | Illustrationen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bildliche Darstellung, die eine schriftliche Beschreibung ergänzt | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Illustration |
Where the eye mixes Illustration and Illustrationen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. Illustration runs 12 letters (VCCVCCCVCVVC) against Illustrationen's 14 (VCCVCCCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Illustration and Illustrationen
A purely visual mix-up. Illustration ([ɪlustʁaˈt͡si̯oːn]) and Illustrationen ([ɪlustʁaˈt͡si̯oːnən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Illustration” sits inside “Illustrationen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Illustration is recorded at frequency rank #17,945, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɪlustʁaˈt͡si̯oːn]. Illustrationen is at rank #15,919, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪlustʁaˈt͡si̯oːnən].
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 33864, this pair ranks #1,676,344 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Illustration vs Illustrationen
Shared letters: ailnorstu. Private to "Illustration": -. Private to "Illustrationen": e.
"Illustration" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVVC · "Illustrationen" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Illustration ← illsutration · illusrtation · illusstration · illustartion · illustraiton · illustratino · illustrationn · illustratoin
- Illustrationen ← illsutrationen · illusrtationen · illusstrationen · illustartionen · illustraitonen · illustratinoen · illustratioenn · illustrationenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Illustration" and "Illustrationen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Illustration" or "Illustrationen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Illustration" and "Illustrationen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Illustration" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Illustrationen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,676,344 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Illustration" and "Illustrationen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Illustration vs Illustrator". 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 #1,676,344 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.