arcvsArschWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,421
“arc” frequency rank
#1,219
“Arsch” frequency rank
24640
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arc Arsch
Definition der Bogen für Hinterteil eines Tieres oder Menschen, Po, Gesäß

Where the eye mixes arc and Arsch

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. arc runs 3 letters (VCC) against Arsch's 5 (VCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
arc
5 ch
Arsch

Why the eye confuses arc with Arsch

A purely visual mix-up. arc ([aʁk]) and Arsch ([aʁʃ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arc is recorded at frequency rank #23,421, classified as anoun, pronounced [aʁk]. Arsch is at rank #1,219, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʁʃ].

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 24640, this pair ranks #1,844,781 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of arc vs Arsch

Shared letters: acr. Private to "arc": -. Private to "Arsch": hs.

"arc" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "Arsch" · 5 letters · shape VCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Arsch ← arcsh · arrsch · arscch · arschh · arshc · arssch · asrch

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "arc" for "Arsch" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aʁk] versus [aʁʃ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "arc" or "Arsch"?
"Arsch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,219 in our German list, against #23,421 for "arc". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "arc" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Arsch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,844,781 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arc" and "Arsch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arc vs AUD". 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 #1,844,781 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