realevsreelleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,521
“reale” frequency rank
#34,327
“reelle” frequency rank
41848
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reale reelle
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs real Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs reell

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set reale and reelle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
reale
6 ch
reelle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. reale ([ʁeˈaːlə]) and reelle ([ʁeˈɛlə]) 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 41848, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reale is recorded at frequency rank #7,521, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʁeˈaːlə]. reelle is at rank #34,327, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʁeˈɛlə].

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 41848, this pair ranks #1,467,246 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reale vs reelle

Shared letters: elr. Private to "reale": a. Private to "reelle": -.

"reale" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "reelle" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • realeerale · raele · reael · realle · relae · rreale
  • reelleerelle · reele · reelel · relele · relle · rreelle

Frequency comparison

reale#7,521
reelle#34,327

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reale" and "reelle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʁeˈaːlə] versus [ʁeˈɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reale" or "reelle"?
"reale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,521 in our German list, against #34,327 for "reelle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering reale vs reelle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “reale” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list