Which to use
“Teer” and “Teller” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,240
- “Teer” frequency rank
- #6,013
- “Teller” frequency rank
- 43253
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Teer | Teller |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | braunschwarze, dicke, fette, klumpige, ölig-klebrige Flüssigkeit von scharfem Geruch, die durch trockenes Erhitzen organischer Stoffe (zum Beispiel Kohle) unter Luftabschluss entsteht | runder, meist flacher Teil des Essgeschirrs, auf dem die Speisen vor dem Verzehr angerichtet werden |
Where the eye mixes Teer and Teller
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Teer with Teller
A purely visual mix-up. Teer ([teːɐ̯]) and Teller ([ˈtɛlɐ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Teer is recorded at frequency rank #37,240, classified as anoun, pronounced [teːɐ̯]. Teller is at rank #6,013, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɛlɐ].
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 43253, this pair ranks #1,423,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Teer vs Teller
Shared letters: ert. Private to "Teer": -. Private to "Teller": l.
"Teer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Teller" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Teer" for "Teller" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Teer" vs "Teller" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Teer" and "Teller" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Teer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Teller" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,423,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Teer" and "Teller" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Teer vs trees". 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 #1,423,939 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.