Which to use
“Fohlen” is a noun and “fotzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,725
- “Fohlen” frequency rank
- #17,895
- “fotzen” frequency rank
- 40620
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Fohlen | fotzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Jungtier eines Pferdes | mit der flachen Hand auf die Backe schlagen |
Where the eye mixes Fohlen and fotzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Fohlen and fotzen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Fohlen with fotzen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Fohlen is [ˈfoːlən] while fotzen is [ˈfɔt͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Fohlen is recorded at frequency rank #22,725, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːlən]. fotzen is at rank #17,895, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔt͡sn̩].
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 40620, this pair ranks #1,503,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Fohlen vs fotzen
Shared letters: efno. Private to "Fohlen": hl. Private to "fotzen": tz.
"Fohlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fotzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Fohlen" for "fotzen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Fohlen" or "fotzen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Fohlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fotzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,503,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Fohlen" and "fotzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fotzen vs frozen". 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 #1,503,244 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.