teilenvsTellernWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,023
“teilen” frequency rank
#44,271
“Tellern” frequency rank
45294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teilen Tellern
Definition ein Ganzes in Bestandteile zerlegen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Teller

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set teilen and Tellern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
teilen
7 ch
Tellern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: teilen is [ˈtaɪ̯lən] while Tellern is [ˈtɛlɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teilen is recorded at frequency rank #1,023, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lən]. Tellern is at rank #44,271, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɛlɐn].

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 45294, this pair ranks #1,357,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of teilen vs Tellern

Shared letters: elnt. Private to "teilen": i. Private to "Tellern": r.

"teilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Tellern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teilenetilen · teieln · teilenn · teillen · teilne · telien · tielen · tteilen
  • Tellernetllern · telelrn · telern · tellenr · tellernn · tellerrn · tellren · tlelern

Frequency comparison

teilen#1,023
Tellern#44,271

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teilen" and "Tellern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "teilen" is a verb and "Tellern" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "teilen" or "Tellern"?
"teilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,023 in our German list, against #44,271 for "Tellern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering teilen vs Tellern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “teilen”; for a noun, it's “Tellern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “teilen” 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