Efeu

[ˈeːfɔɪ̯]

/[ˈeːfɔɪ̯]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Efeu” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #48,090) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#48,090
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Araliengewächse (Araliaceae)

Corpus desk

Index DE-efeu · Efeu · German

Efeu · rank #48,090 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,090
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH EBIT

Nearest frequency peer: EBIT (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „Efeu“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „Efeu“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Efeu vs EU
25% similar
Efeu vs Ehe
50% similar
Efeu vs eye
25% similar

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

Key facts for Efeu
PropertyValue
HeadwordEfeu
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈeːfɔɪ̯]
Letters4
Frequency rank#48,090
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „Efeu“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Efeuliegt auf dieser Marke:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „EBIT“ (#48,089), „Ehrenwort“ (#48,091), „Eberbach“ (#48,088). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „Efeu“ bei #48,090. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Efeu is neighbouring look-alikes ("EU", "Ehe", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [ˈeːfɔɪ̯]. Frequency #48,090 among 4,632 “E” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Efeu, with forms such as "eefu", "effeu", and "efue". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "EU", "Ehe", "eye", 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 best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Efeu, spelled E-F-E-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Araliengewächse (Araliaceae)
  2. 2
    immergrüne Kletterpflanze aus der Gattung Efeu

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Efeu appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Efeu gehört zu den Araliengewächsen.
  2. Efeu findet man oft auf Friedhöfen und an alten Hausmauern.

Synonyms

Gemeiner Efeu

This word in other languages

ivy(English)hiedra(Español)lierre(Français)hera(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eefu
  • effeu
  • efue
  • feeu

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Efeu - 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.

eefu2effeu1efue2feeu2
Edit distance from "Efeu"

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 "Efeu"?
"Efeu" is spelled E-F-E-U. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈeːfɔɪ̯].
What does "Efeu" mean?
As a noun, "Efeu" means: Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Araliengewächse (Araliaceae)
What words are commonly confused with "Efeu"?
"Efeu" is commonly confused with "EU", "Ehe", "eye". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Efeu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Efeu" is [ˈeːfɔɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Efeu" come from?
"Efeu" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Efeu", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

EBIT#48,089Düne#48,081Doro#48,070DAAD#48,053

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list