FilternvsFolterTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,889
“Filtern” frequency rank
#8,364
“Folter” frequency rank
26253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Filtern Folter
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Filter die Misshandlung oder das Zufügen von körperlichen und seelischen Schmerzen

Where the eye mixes Filtern and Folter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Filtern runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against Folter's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Filtern
6 ch
Folter

Visual trap between Filtern and Folter

A purely visual mix-up. Filtern ([ˈfɪltɐn]) and Folter ([ˈfɔltɐ]) 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 26253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Filtern is recorded at frequency rank #17,889, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɪltɐn]. Folter is at rank #8,364, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔltɐ].

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 26253, this pair ranks #1,820,917 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Filtern vs Folter

Shared letters: eflrt. Private to "Filtern": in. Private to "Folter": o.

"Filtern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Folter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Filtern ← ffiltern · filetrn · filltern · filtenr · filternn · filterrn · filtren · filttern
  • Folter ← ffolter · floter · foletr · follter · folterr · foltre · foltter · fotler

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Filtern" and "Folter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfɪltɐn] versus [ˈfɔltɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Filtern" or "Folter"?
"Folter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,364 in our German list, against #17,889 for "Filtern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Filtern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Folter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,820,917 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Filtern" and "Folter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Filtern vs Flyern". 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 #1,820,917 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