TeufelvsTeufelsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,341
“Teufel” frequency rank
#16,847
“Teufels” frequency rank
20188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teufel Teufels
Definition böses Geisterwesen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Teufel

Where the eye mixes Teufel and Teufels

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Teufel runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Teufels's 7 (CVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Teufel
7 ch
Teufels

Look-alike desk: Teufel vs Teufels

A purely visual mix-up. Teufel ([ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩]) and Teufels ([ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩s]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Teufel” sits inside “Teufels”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teufel is recorded at frequency rank #3,341, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩]. Teufels is at rank #16,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩s].

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 20188, this pair ranks #1,900,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Teufel vs Teufels

Shared letters: efltu. Private to "Teufel": -. Private to "Teufels": s.

"Teufel" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Teufels" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teufel ← etufel · tefuel · teuefl · teufell · teuffel · teufle · tteufel · tuefel
  • Teufels ← etufels · tefuels · teuefls · teufells · teufelss · teufesl · teuffels · teufles

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Teufel" and "Teufels" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩] versus [ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Teufel" or "Teufels" show up more?
"Teufel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,341 in our German list, against #16,847 for "Teufels". 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 "Teufel" and "Teufels" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teufel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Teufels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,900,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teufel" and "Teufels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Teufel vs Trüffel". 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 #1,900,355 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