Which to use
“Föhn” and “Foul” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,595
- “Föhn” frequency rank
- #16,991
- “Foul” frequency rank
- 50586
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Föhn | Foul |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an steileren Gebirgshängen absteigende, trockene und klare Luftmassen mit relativ hoher Temperatur | Regelverstoß, bei dem der Gegenspieler mit unfairen und unsportlichen Mitteln benachteiligt wird |
Where the eye mixes Föhn and Foul
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. Föhn (CVCC) and Foul (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Föhn and Foul
A purely visual mix-up. Föhn ([føːn]) and Foul ([faʊ̯l]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Föhn is recorded at frequency rank #33,595, classified as anoun, pronounced [føːn]. Foul is at rank #16,991, tagged as anoun, pronounced [faʊ̯l].
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 50586, this pair ranks #1,168,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Föhn vs Foul
Shared letters: f. Private to "Föhn": hnö. Private to "Foul": lou.
"Föhn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Foul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Foul ← ffoul · folu · foull · fuol · oful
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Föhn" for "Foul" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Föhn" or "Foul"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Föhn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Foul" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,168,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Föhn" and "Foul" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fock vs Föhn". 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 #1,168,032 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.