Which to use
“quälen” and “quellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,188
- “quälen” frequency rank
- #1,858
- “quellen” frequency rank
- 17046
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quälen | quellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | absichtlich Schmerzen zufügen, leiden machen | austreten, ansteigen, sprudeln |
Same sound, different letters: quälen vs quellen
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - quälen / quellen
This is the hard kind. quälen and quellen are pronounced identically ([ˈkvɛːlən]) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quälen is recorded at frequency rank #15,188, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkvɛːlən]. quellen is at rank #1,858, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkvɛlən].
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 17046, this pair ranks #1,930,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of quälen vs quellen
Shared letters: elnqu. Private to "quälen": ä. Private to "quellen": -.
"quälen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "quellen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- quellen ← qeullen · qquellen · queleln · quelen · quellenn · quellne · qulelen · uqellen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "quälen" and "quellen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "quälen" or "quellen"?
Useful next steps
"quälen" and "quellen" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "quälen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,930,815 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quälen" and "quellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quälen vs queren". 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 #1,930,815 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.