elf
German, number
elf is spelled E-L-F (3 letters) and appears 32 times per million words in written German, the 2,594th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Elf is a German number meaning “eleven” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Elf is a different word: “eleven”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “die Kardinalzahl zwischen zehn und zwölf”.
What does elf mean in English?
number
- 1
eleven
noun
- 1
feminineeleven
- 2
femininefootball team, XI (so called because eleven is the number of players on such a team)
noun
- 1
masculineelf
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
number: 1. die Kardinalzahl zwischen zehn und zwölf 2. „elf Uhr“ oder „dreiundzwanzig Uhr“ 3. „elf Jahre (alt)“
noun: 1. keltische und germanische Märchen- und Sagengestalt; Naturgeist mit guter oder schlechter Gesinnung 2. menschenähnliches Wesen eher guter Gesinnung
noun: 1. die natürliche Zahl Elf 2. Fußballmannschaft
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of elf
- eilf alternative
- eilff alternative
- eylf alternative
- eylff alternative
- Elfen plural
- Elfs genitive
- Elfe alternative
- elfe variant colloquial
- 11 symbol
- Ⅺ symbol
- ⅺ symbol
- B symbol
- die elf Dinge nominative definite
- elf Dinge nominative indefinite
- der elf Dinge genitive definite
- elfer Dinge genitive indefinite
- den elf Dingen dative definite
- elf Dingen dative indefinite
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to elf
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is elf in German?
elf appears 32 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).