Which to use
“sexual” and “sexuell” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,017
- “sexual” frequency rank
- #8,277
- “sexuell” frequency rank
- 44294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sexual | sexuell |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Sexualität betreffend, das Geschlecht betreffend | den Sex, die Sexualität betreffend |
Where the eye mixes sexual and sexuell
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sexual runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against sexuell's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sexual with sexuell
A purely visual mix-up. sexual ([sɛksuˈaːl]) and sexuell ([sɛksuˈɛl]) 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 44294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sexual is recorded at frequency rank #36,017, classified as anadj, pronounced [sɛksuˈaːl]. sexuell is at rank #8,277, tagged as anadj, pronounced [sɛksuˈɛl].
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 44294, this pair ranks #1,390,867 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sexual vs sexuell
Shared letters: elsux. Private to "sexual": a. Private to "sexuell": -.
"sexual" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "sexuell" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sexual" and "sexuell" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sexual" vs "sexuell" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sexual" and "sexuell" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sexual" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sexuell" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,390,867 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sexual" and "sexuell" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seal vs sexual". 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 #1,390,867 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.