Which to use
“subtil” and “subtile” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,336
- “subtil” frequency rank
- #30,798
- “subtile” frequency rank
- 56134
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | subtil | subtile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | auf eine differenzierte und feine Art vorhanden, angelegt oder gegliedert; in die Feinheiten gehend | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs subtil |
Where the eye mixes subtil and subtile
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses subtil with subtile
A purely visual mix-up. subtil ([zʊpˈtiːl]) and subtile ([zʊpˈtiːlə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “subtil” sits inside “subtile”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
subtil is recorded at frequency rank #25,336, classified as anadj, pronounced [zʊpˈtiːl]. subtile is at rank #30,798, tagged as anadj, pronounced [zʊpˈtiːlə].
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 56134, this pair ranks #952,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of subtil vs subtile
Shared letters: bilstu. Private to "subtil": -. Private to "subtile": e.
"subtil" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "subtile" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "subtil" and "subtile" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "subtil" or "subtile" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "subtil" and "subtile" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "subtil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "subtile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #952,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "subtil" and "subtile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "subtile vs subtiler". 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 #952,136 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.