Which to use
“wolf” and “Wölfe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,277
- “wolf” frequency rank
- #8,491
- “Wölfe” frequency rank
- 10768
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wolf | Wölfe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wolf | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Wolf |
Where the eye mixes wolf and Wölfe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. wolf runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Wölfe's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wolf with Wölfe
A purely visual mix-up. wolf ([wʊłf]) and Wölfe ([ˈvœlfə]) 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 10768, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wolf is recorded at frequency rank #2,277, classified as anoun, pronounced [wʊłf]. Wölfe is at rank #8,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvœlfə].
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 10768, this pair ranks #1,973,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of wolf vs Wölfe
Shared letters: flw. Private to "wolf": o. Private to "Wölfe": eö.
"wolf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Wölfe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- wolf ← owlf · wlof · wofl · wollf · wwolf
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wolf" for "Wölfe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "wolf" or "Wölfe" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "wolf" and "Wölfe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wolf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Wölfe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wolf" and "Wölfe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "welke vs Wölfe". 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 #1,973,409 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.