BackhausvsBrockhausTell them apart

Which to use

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

#33,455
“Backhaus” frequency rank
#24,658
“Brockhaus” frequency rank
58113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Backhaus Brockhaus
Definition Gebäude oder Haus, in dem gebacken wird bekanntes Lexikon der deutschen Sprache und zu Fachwissen

Where the eye mixes Backhaus and Brockhaus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Backhaus runs 8 letters (CVCCCVVC) against Brockhaus's 9 (CCVCCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Backhaus
9 ch
Brockhaus

Visual trap between Backhaus and Brockhaus

A purely visual mix-up. Backhaus ([ˈbakˌhaʊ̯s]) and Brockhaus ([ˈbʁɔkˌhaʊ̯s]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Backhaus is recorded at frequency rank #33,455, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbakˌhaʊ̯s]. Brockhaus is at rank #24,658, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbʁɔkˌhaʊ̯s].

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 58113, this pair ranks #875,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Backhaus vs Brockhaus

Shared letters: abchksu. Private to "Backhaus": -. Private to "Brockhaus": or.

"Backhaus" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC  ·  "Brockhaus" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Backhausabckhaus · bacckhaus · bachkaus · backahus · backhasu · backhauss · backhhaus · backhuas
  • Brockhausbbrockhaus · borckhaus · brcokhaus · brocckhaus · brochkaus · brockahus · brockhasu · brockhauss

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Backhaus" for "Brockhaus" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbakˌhaʊ̯s] versus [ˈbʁɔkˌhaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Backhaus" or "Brockhaus" show up more?
"Brockhaus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,658 in our German list, against #33,455 for "Backhaus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Backhaus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Brockhaus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #875,321 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Backhaus" and "Brockhaus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Backhaus vs Baumhaus". 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 #875,321 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