elf

[ɛlf]

/[ɛlf]/ num

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

The verdict

“elf” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,588) as a numeral. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,588
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - die Kardinalzahl zwischen zehn und zwölf

Corpus desk

Index DE-elf · elf · German

elf · rank #2,588 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,588
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH Einwohner

Nearest frequency peer: Einwohner (-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 „elf“

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

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „elf“ 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).

elf vs es
33% similar
elf vs er
33% similar
elf vs EU
0% similar

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

Key facts for elf
PropertyValue
Headwordelf
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNumeral
IPA[ɛlf]
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,588
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „elf“

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

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Einwohner“ (#2,587), „erfolgen“ (#2,589), „diejenigen“ (#2,586). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „elf“ bei #2,588. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for elf is neighbouring look-alikes ("es", "er", …), not just typos; it is anumeral pronounced [ɛlf]. Frequency #2,588 among 4,632 “E” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

elf has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "es", "er", "EU", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is elf, spelled E-L-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    die Kardinalzahl zwischen zehn und zwölf
  2. 2
    „elf Uhr“ oder „dreiundzwanzig Uhr“
  3. 3
    „elf Jahre (alt)“

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Das Wort „elfengleich“ hat elf Buchstaben.
  2. Manche fangen schon um elf an, Mittag zu kochen.

Synonyms

UhrdreiundzwanzigJahrealtelfjährig

This word in other languages

eleven(English)once(Español)onze(Français)onze(Português)

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 "elf"?
"elf" is spelled E-L-F. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛlf].
What does "elf" mean?
As a numeral, "elf" means: die Kardinalzahl zwischen zehn und zwölf
What words are commonly confused with "elf"?
"elf" is commonly confused with "es", "er", "EU". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "elf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "elf" is [ɛlf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "elf" come from?
"elf" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "elf", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hör#2,601via#2,568tom#2,521Oma#2,673

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list