TeichevsTuscheWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,338
“Teiche” frequency rank
#47,058
“Tusche” frequency rank
80396
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teiche Tusche
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Teich dunkle, mit Bindemitteln versetzte Tinte mit unlöslichem Farbmittel

Where the eye mixes Teiche and Tusche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Teiche
6 ch
Tusche

Why the eye confuses Teiche with Tusche

A purely visual mix-up. Teiche ([ˈtaɪ̯çə]) and Tusche ([ˈtʊʃə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teiche is recorded at frequency rank #33,338, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯çə]. Tusche is at rank #47,058, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʊʃə].

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 80396, this pair ranks #196,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Teiche vs Tusche

Shared letters: ceht. Private to "Teiche": i. Private to "Tusche": su.

"Teiche" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "Tusche" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teicheetiche · tecihe · teicche · teiceh · teichhe · teihce · tieche · tteiche
  • Tuschetsuche · ttusche · tucshe · tuscche · tusceh · tuschhe · tushce · tussche

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Teiche" and "Tusche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtaɪ̯çə] versus [ˈtʊʃə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Teiche" or "Tusche" show up more?
"Teiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,338 in our German list, against #47,058 for "Tusche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teiche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tusche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #196,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teiche" and "Tusche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Türchen vs Tusche". 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 #196,457 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