TeilvsteilteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Teil is a noun, teilte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Teil” is a noun and “teilte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#238
“Teil” frequency rank
#5,542
“teilte” frequency rank
5780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teil teilte
Definition ein Element, Stück oder Teilmenge eines Ganzen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs teilen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Teil and teilte apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Teil
6 ch
teilte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Teil and teilte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Teil” sits inside “teilte” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teil is recorded at frequency rank #238, classified as anoun, pronounced [taɪ̯l]. teilte is at rank #5,542, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯ltə].

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 5780, this pair ranks #1,993,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

Teil#238
teilte#5,542

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Teil" and "teilte" be used interchangeably?
No, "Teil" and "teilte" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Teil vs teilte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Teil”; for a verb, it's “teilte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Teil” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list