wolfvsWolfsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,277
“wolf” frequency rank
#36,744
“Wolfs” frequency rank
39021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wolf Wolfs
Definition Wolf Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Wolf

Where the eye mixes wolf and Wolfs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
wolf
5 ch
Wolfs

Visual trap between wolf and Wolfs

A purely visual mix-up. wolf ([wʊłf]) and Wolfs ([vɔlfs]) 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 extra letter(s) - “wolf” sits inside “Wolfs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39021, 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]. Wolfs is at rank #36,744, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vɔlfs].

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 39021, this pair ranks #1,548,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wolf vs Wolfs

Shared letters: flow. Private to "wolf": -. Private to "Wolfs": s.

"wolf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Wolfs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wolfowlf · wlof · wofl · wollf · wwolf
  • Wolfsowlfs · wlofs · wofls · wolffs · wolfss · wollfs · wolsf · wwolfs

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "wolf" and "Wolfs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([wʊłf] versus [vɔlfs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wolf" or "Wolfs"?
"wolf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,277 in our German list, against #36,744 for "Wolfs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "wolf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Wolfs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,548,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wolf" and "Wolfs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wolfs vs worlds". 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 #1,548,282 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