della

[ˈdella]

/[ˈdella]/ prep

The verdict

“della” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #11,845 in German word frequency and used as a preposition.

#11,845
frequency rank, German
5
letters
4
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Verschmelzung der Präposition di mit dem bestimmten Artikel la

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

della vs doll
60% similar
della vs Dill
40% similar
della vs Duell
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for della
PropertyValue
Headworddella
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPreposition
IPA[ˈdella]
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,845
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “della” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). della lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for della is 5 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈdella]. Corpus data places it at rank #11,845 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Verschmelzung der Präposition di mit dem bestimmten Artikel la".

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for della, with forms such as "ddella", "delal", and "dlela". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "doll", "Dill", "Duell", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is della, spelled D-E-L-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Verschmelzung der Präposition di mit dem bestimmten Artikel la

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddella,delal,dlela,edlla

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of della - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddella1delal2dlela2edlla2
Edit distance from "della"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "della"?
"della" is spelled D-E-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈdella].
What does "della" mean?
As a preposition, "della" means: Verschmelzung der Präposition di mit dem bestimmten Artikel la
What words are commonly confused with "della"?
"della" is commonly confused with "doll", "Dill", "Duell". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "della"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "della" is [ˈdella]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "della" come from?
"della" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “della”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is D-E-L-L-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈdella] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “doll” - see the side-by-side comparison. della vs doll
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list