tiefvsTopfTell them apart

Quick tell: tief is a adjective, Topf is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“tief” is an adjective and “Topf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,308
“tief” frequency rank
#6,366
“Topf” frequency rank
7674
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tief Topf
Definition räumlich weit nach unten ausgedehnt kleines Gefäß

Where the eye mixes tief and Topf

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

4 ch
tief
4 ch
Topf

Look-alike desk: tief vs Topf

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tief is [tiːf] while Topf is [tɔp͡f]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tief is recorded at frequency rank #1,308, classified as anadj, pronounced [tiːf]. Topf is at rank #6,366, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tɔp͡f].

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 7674, this pair ranks #1,987,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tief vs Topf

Shared letters: ft. Private to "tief": ei. Private to "Topf": op.

"tief" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Topf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tiefitef · teif · tieff · tife · ttief
  • Topfotpf · tofp · topff · toppf · tpof · ttopf

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tief" and "Topf" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tief" is an adjective and "Topf" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tief" or "Topf"?
"tief" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,308 in our German list, against #6,366 for "Topf". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tief" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Topf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tief" and "Topf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tons vs Topf". 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 #1,987,333 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