solavssoleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,998
“sola” frequency rank
#27,493
“sole” frequency rank
74491
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sola sole
Definition Seezunge (Solea solea) nächster Stern zur Erde und Zentrum unseres Sonnensystems; Sonne

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sola and sole apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sola
4 ch
sole

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sola ([ˈsɔla]) and sole ([ˈsole]) 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 a single letter - a in “sola” becomes e in “sole”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sola is recorded at frequency rank #46,998, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsɔla]. sole is at rank #27,493, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsole].

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 74491, this pair ranks #332,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sola vs sole

Shared letters: los. Private to "sola": a. Private to "sole": e.

"sola" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • solaosla · sloa · soal · solla · ssola
  • soleosle · sloe · soel · ssole

Frequency comparison

sola#46,998
sole#27,493

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sola" and "sole" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsɔla] versus [ˈsole]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sola" or "sole"?
"sole" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,493 in our German list, against #46,998 for "sola". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sola vs sole

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 “sola” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list