TeilvsTicConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#238
“Teil” frequency rank
#38,446
“Tic” frequency rank
38684
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teil Tic
Definition ein Element, Stück oder Teilmenge eines Ganzen unkontrollierte Muskelkontraktion

Where the eye mixes Teil and Tic

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Teil
3 ch
Tic

Look-alike desk: Teil vs Tic

A purely visual mix-up. Teil ([taɪ̯l]) and Tic ([tɪk]) 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 38684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teil is recorded at frequency rank #238, classified as anoun, pronounced [taɪ̯l]. Tic is at rank #38,446, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tɪk].

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 38684, this pair ranks #1,557,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Teil vs Tic

Shared letters: it. Private to "Teil": el. Private to "Tic": c.

"Teil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Tic" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teiletil · teill · teli · tiel · tteil

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Teil" and "Tic" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([taɪ̯l] versus [tɪk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Teil" or "Tic"?
"Teil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #238 in our German list, against #38,446 for "Tic". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Tic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,557,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teil" and "Tic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tic vs tine". 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 #1,557,398 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