TeichenvsTeilchenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#44,269
“Teichen” frequency rank
#13,708
“Teilchen” frequency rank
57977
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teichen Teilchen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Teich im Vergleich zum übergeordneten System sehr kleines Objekt; speziell: Objekt, welches kleiner ist, als ein Atom

Where the eye mixes Teichen and Teilchen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Teichen
8 ch
Teilchen

Why the eye confuses Teichen with Teilchen

A purely visual mix-up. Teichen ([ˈtaɪ̯çn̩]) and Teilchen ([ˈtaɪ̯lçən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teichen is recorded at frequency rank #44,269, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯çn̩]. Teilchen is at rank #13,708, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lçən].

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 57977, this pair ranks #880,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Teichen vs Teilchen

Shared letters: cehint. Private to "Teichen": -. Private to "Teilchen": l.

"Teichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "Teilchen" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teichenetichen · tecihen · teicchen · teicehn · teichenn · teichhen · teichne · teihcen
  • Teilchenteiclhen · teilcchen · teilcehn · teilchenn · teilchhen · teilchne · teilhcen · teillchen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Teichen" and "Teilchen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtaɪ̯çn̩] versus [ˈtaɪ̯lçən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Teichen" vs "Teilchen" - which ranks higher?
"Teilchen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,708 in our German list, against #44,269 for "Teichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Teichen" and "Teilchen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Teilchen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #880,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teichen" and "Teilchen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Teichen vs Teppichen". 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 #880,358 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