QuellevsqueueWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,267
“Quelle” frequency rank
#49,182
“queue” frequency rank
50449
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Quelle queue
Definition Ursprung eines Flusses, fließenden Gewässers; Ort des augenscheinlichen oberirdischen Austritts von Gewässern ein Anhang am Ende des Körpers von Wirbeltieren

Where the eye mixes Quelle and queue

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Quelle
5 ch
queue

Look-alike desk: Quelle vs queue

A purely visual mix-up. Quelle ([ˈkvɛlə]) and queue ([kø]) 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 50449, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Quelle is recorded at frequency rank #1,267, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkvɛlə]. queue is at rank #49,182, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kø].

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 50449, this pair ranks #1,173,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Quelle vs queue

Shared letters: equ. Private to "Quelle": l. Private to "queue": -.

"Quelle" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "queue" · 5 letters · shape CVVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Quelleqeulle · qquelle · quele · quelel · qulele · uqelle
  • queueqeuue · qqueue · queeu · quuee · uqeue

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Quelle" and "queue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkvɛlə] versus [kø]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Quelle" or "queue"?
"Quelle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,267 in our German list, against #49,182 for "queue". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Quelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "queue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,173,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Quelle" and "queue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "queren vs queue". 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 #1,173,251 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