FachvsFockWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,440
“Fach” frequency rank
#48,895
“Fock” frequency rank
52335
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fach Fock
Definition der durch das Balkengerüst beziehungsweise die tragenden Balken gebildete und mit Lehm oder Ziegeln ausgefüllte Zwischenraum einer Fachwerkwand (auch Gefach) ein kleineres Vorsegel, welches am Mast nicht überlappt; auf Yachten wird es bei Starkwind statt einer Genua angeschlagen

Where the eye mixes Fach and Fock

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Fach
4 ch
Fock

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Fach ([fax]) and Fock ([fɔk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52335, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fach is recorded at frequency rank #3,440, classified as anoun, pronounced [fax]. Fock is at rank #48,895, tagged as anoun, pronounced [fɔk].

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 52335, this pair ranks #1,100,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Fach vs Fock

Shared letters: cf. Private to "Fach": ah. Private to "Fock": ko.

"Fach" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Fock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fachafch · facch · fachh · fahc · fcah · ffach
  • Fockfcok · ffock · focck · fockk · fokc · ofck

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fach" and "Fock" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fax] versus [fɔk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Fach" or "Fock"?
"Fach" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,440 in our German list, against #48,895 for "Fock". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list