TypvsTypusWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#869
“Typ” frequency rank
#21,456
“Typus” frequency rank
22325
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Typ Typus
Definition Menge von Gegenständen mit spezifischen Eigenschaften fachsprachliche Bezeichnung von Typ

Where the eye mixes Typ and Typus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
Typ
5 ch
Typus

Look-alike desk: Typ vs Typus

A purely visual mix-up. Typ ([tyːp]) and Typus ([ˈtyːpʊs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Typ” sits inside “Typus”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Typ is recorded at frequency rank #869, classified as anoun, pronounced [tyːp]. Typus is at rank #21,456, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtyːpʊs].

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 22325, this pair ranks #1,875,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Typ vs Typus

Shared letters: pty. Private to "Typ": -. Private to "Typus": su.

"Typ" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Typus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Typustpyus · ttypus · typpus · typsu · typuss · tyups · tyypus · ytpus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Typ" and "Typus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([tyːp] versus [ˈtyːpʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Typ" or "Typus"?
"Typ" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #869 in our German list, against #21,456 for "Typus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Typ" and "Typus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Typ" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Typus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,875,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Typ" and "Typus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tapas vs Typus". 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 #1,875,536 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