BordsteinvsBorstenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#39,255
“Bordstein” frequency rank
#33,489
“Borsten” frequency rank
72744
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bordstein Borsten
Definition befestigte Reihe von Steinen, welche den Bürgersteig von der Straße abtrennt Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Borste

Where the eye mixes Bordstein and Borsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
Bordstein
7 ch
Borsten

Visual trap between Bordstein and Borsten

A purely visual mix-up. Bordstein ([ˈbɔʁtˌʃtaɪ̯n]) and Borsten ([ˈbɔʁstn̩]) 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 72744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bordstein is recorded at frequency rank #39,255, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɔʁtˌʃtaɪ̯n]. Borsten is at rank #33,489, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɔʁstn̩].

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 72744, this pair ranks #379,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Bordstein vs Borsten

Shared letters: benorst. Private to "Bordstein": di. Private to "Borsten": -.

"Bordstein" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVVC  ·  "Borsten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bordsteinbbordstein · bodrstein · borddstein · bordsetin · bordsstein · bordsteinn · bordsteni · bordstien
  • Borstenbborsten · borrsten · borsetn · borssten · borstenn · borstne · borstten · bortsen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Bordstein" and "Borsten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɔʁtˌʃtaɪ̯n] versus [ˈbɔʁstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Bordstein" vs "Borsten" - which ranks higher?
"Borsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,489 in our German list, against #39,255 for "Bordstein". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bordstein" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Borsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #379,671 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bordstein" and "Borsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "borgen vs Borsten". 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 #379,671 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