KapitalsvsKapitelsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Kapitals” and “Kapitels” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,971
“Kapitals” frequency rank
#37,604
“Kapitels” frequency rank
58575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kapitals Kapitels
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kapital Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Kapitel

Where the eye mixes Kapitals and Kapitels

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Kapitals and Kapitels follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Kapitals
8 ch
Kapitels

Why the eye confuses Kapitals with Kapitels

A purely visual mix-up. Kapitals ([kapiˈtaːls]) and Kapitels ([kaˈpɪtl̩s]) 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 a single letter - a in “Kapitals” becomes e in “Kapitels”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kapitals is recorded at frequency rank #20,971, classified as anoun, pronounced [kapiˈtaːls]. Kapitels is at rank #37,604, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kaˈpɪtl̩s].

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 58575, this pair ranks #857,533 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Kapitals vs Kapitels

Shared letters: aiklpst. Private to "Kapitals": -. Private to "Kapitels": e.

"Kapitals" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC  ·  "Kapitels" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kapitalsakpitals · kaiptals · kapiatls · kapitalls · kapitalss · kapitasl · kapitlas · kapittals
  • Kapitelsakpitels · kaiptels · kapietls · kapitells · kapitelss · kapitesl · kapitles · kapittels

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kapitals" for "Kapitels" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([kapiˈtaːls] versus [kaˈpɪtl̩s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kapitals" vs "Kapitels" - which ranks higher?
"Kapitals" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,971 in our German list, against #37,604 for "Kapitels". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kapitals" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kapitels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #857,533 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kapitals" and "Kapitels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kapitels vs Kapitol". 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 #857,533 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list