FockvsFöhrWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Fock is a noun, Föhr is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Fock” is a noun and “Föhr” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,895
“Fock” frequency rank
#45,948
“Föhr” frequency rank
94843
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Fock Föhr
Definition ein kleineres Vorsegel, welches am Mast nicht überlappt; auf Yachten wird es bei Starkwind statt einer Genua angeschlagen eine nordfriesische Insel vor der Westküste Schleswig-Holsteins

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Fock and Föhr apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Fock
4 ch
Föhr

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fock is [fɔk] while Föhr is [føːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 94843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Fock is recorded at frequency rank #48,895, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɔk]. Föhr is at rank #45,948, tagged as aname, pronounced [føːɐ̯].

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 94843, this pair ranks #14,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Fock vs Föhr

Shared letters: f. Private to "Fock": cko. Private to "Föhr": hrö.

"Fock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Föhr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Fockfcok · ffock · focck · fockk · fokc · ofck

Frequency comparison

Fock#48,895
Föhr#45,948

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Fock" and "Föhr" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Fock" is a noun and "Föhr" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Fock" or "Föhr"?
"Föhr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,948 in our German list, against #48,895 for "Fock". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Fock vs Föhr

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Fock”; for a name, it's “Föhr”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Fock” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list