TeufelvsTrüffelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,341
“Teufel” frequency rank
#42,193
“Trüffel” frequency rank
45534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teufel Trüffel
Definition böses Geisterwesen ein unter der Erde wachsender, edler, knollenförmiger, zu den Schlauchpilzen zählender Speisepilz

Where the eye mixes Teufel and Trüffel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Teufel runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Trüffel's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Teufel
7 ch
Trüffel

Why the eye confuses Teufel with Trüffel

A purely visual mix-up. Teufel ([ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩]) and Trüffel ([ˈtʁʏfl̩]) 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 45534, 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]. Trüffel is at rank #42,193, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtʁʏfl̩].

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 45534, this pair ranks #1,349,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Teufel vs Trüffel

Shared letters: eflt. Private to "Teufel": u. Private to "Trüffel": rü.

"Teufel" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Trüffel" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teufel ← etufel · tefuel · teuefl · teufell · teuffel · teufle · tteufel · tuefel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Teufel" for "Trüffel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɔɪ̯fl̩] versus [ˈtʁʏfl̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Teufel" vs "Trüffel" - which ranks higher?
"Teufel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,341 in our German list, against #42,193 for "Trüffel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teufel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Trüffel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,349,761 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teufel" and "Trüffel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Trubel 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 #1,349,761 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