KübelvsKurbelWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#37,039
“Kübel” frequency rank
#37,036
“Kurbel” frequency rank
74075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Kübel Kurbel
Definition großes Gefäß mit Henkel(n) zum Transport oder zur Aufbewahrung von Flüssigkeiten oder Schüttgut einarmiger Hebel zum kreisenden Bewirken einer Drehung

Where the eye mixes Kübel and Kurbel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kübel runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Kurbel's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Kübel
6 ch
Kurbel

Visual trap between Kübel and Kurbel

A purely visual mix-up. Kübel ([ˈkyːbl̩]) and Kurbel ([ˈkʊʁbl̩]) 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 74075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Kübel is recorded at frequency rank #37,039, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkyːbl̩]. Kurbel is at rank #37,036, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkʊʁbl̩].

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 74075, this pair ranks #343,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Kübel vs Kurbel

Shared letters: bekl. Private to "Kübel": ü. Private to "Kurbel": ru.

"Kübel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Kurbel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Kurbelkkurbel · krubel · kubrel · kurbbel · kurbell · kurble · kurebl · kurrbel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Kübel" for "Kurbel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkyːbl̩] versus [ˈkʊʁbl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Kübel" vs "Kurbel" - which ranks higher?
"Kurbel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,036 in our German list, against #37,039 for "Kübel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Kübel" and "Kurbel" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Kübel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kurbel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #343,100 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Kübel" and "Kurbel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Kubas vs Kübel". 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 #343,100 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