vögelnvsVogelsConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#8,967
“vögeln” frequency rank
#36,106
“Vogels” frequency rank
45073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vögeln Vogels
Definition den Geschlechtsakt vollziehen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Vogel

Where the eye mixes vögeln and Vogels

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vögeln and Vogels follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
vögeln
6 ch
Vogels

Why the eye confuses vögeln with Vogels

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vögeln is [ˈføːɡl̩n] while Vogels is [ˈfoːɡl̩s]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vögeln is recorded at frequency rank #8,967, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈføːɡl̩n]. Vogels is at rank #36,106, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɡl̩s].

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 45073, this pair ranks #1,365,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vögeln vs Vogels

Shared letters: eglv. Private to "vögeln": nö. Private to "Vogels": os.

"vögeln" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Vogels" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vogels ← ovgels · vgoels · voegls · vogells · vogelss · vogesl · voggels · vogles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vögeln" for "Vogels" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vögeln" is a verb and "Vogels" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vögeln" or "Vogels"?
"vögeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,967 in our German list, against #36,106 for "Vogels". 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 "vögeln" and "Vogels" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vögeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vogels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,365,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vögeln" and "Vogels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vocals vs Vogels". 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 #1,365,404 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