SultanvsSultansConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,178
“Sultan” frequency rank
#36,656
“Sultans” frequency rank
48834
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sultan Sultans
Definition islamischer Herrschertitel, der ab dem 10. Jahrhundert in verschiedenen Epochen und Gegenden der Welt benutzt wurde Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Sultan

Where the eye mixes Sultan and Sultans

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Sultan runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Sultans's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Sultan
7 ch
Sultans

Why the eye confuses Sultan with Sultans

A purely visual mix-up. Sultan ([ˈzʊltaːn]) and Sultans ([ˈzʊltaːns]) 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) - “Sultan” sits inside “Sultans”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sultan is recorded at frequency rank #12,178, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzʊltaːn]. Sultans is at rank #36,656, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzʊltaːns].

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 48834, this pair ranks #1,233,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sultan vs Sultans

Shared letters: alnstu. Private to "Sultan": -. Private to "Sultans": -.

"Sultan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Sultans" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sultan ← slutan · ssultan · sulatn · sulltan · sultann · sultna · sulttan · sutlan
  • Sultans ← slutans · ssultans · sulatns · sulltans · sultanns · sultanss · sultasn · sultnas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Sultan" and "Sultans" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzʊltaːn] versus [ˈzʊltaːns]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Sultan" or "Sultans" show up more?
"Sultan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,178 in our German list, against #36,656 for "Sultans". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Sultan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sultans" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,233,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sultan" and "Sultans" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Satans vs Sultans". 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 #1,233,904 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