VolkesvsVolleyTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,039
“Volkes” frequency rank
#47,105
“Volley” frequency rank
52144
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Volkes Volley
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Volk Ball, der nicht im Spielfeld aufkommt, sondern direkt aus der Luft zurückgeschlagen wird

Where the eye mixes Volkes and Volley

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Volkes (CVCCVC) and Volley (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Volkes
6 ch
Volley

Why the eye confuses Volkes with Volley

A purely visual mix-up. Volkes ([ˈfɔlkəs]) and Volley ([ˈvɔlɛɪ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Volkes is recorded at frequency rank #5,039, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔlkəs]. Volley is at rank #47,105, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɔlɛɪ̯].

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 52144, this pair ranks #1,108,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Volkes vs Volley

Shared letters: elov. Private to "Volkes": ks. Private to "Volley": y.

"Volkes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Volley" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Volkesovlkes · vlokes · vokles · voleks · volkess · volkkes · volkse · vollkes
  • Volleyovlley · vloley · volely · voley · volleyy · vollye · vvolley

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Volkes" and "Volley" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɔlkəs] versus [ˈvɔlɛɪ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Volkes" or "Volley" show up more?
"Volkes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,039 in our German list, against #47,105 for "Volley". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Volkes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Volley" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,108,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Volkes" and "Volley" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ville vs Volley". 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 #1,108,365 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