Which to use
“foltern” and “fordern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,302
- “foltern” frequency rank
- #2,293
- “fordern” frequency rank
- 29595
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foltern | fordern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem (physisch oder psychisch) heftigen Schmerz zufügen | etwas (von jemandem) verlangen |
Where the eye mixes foltern and fordern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: foltern vs fordern
A purely visual mix-up. foltern ([ˈfɔltɐn]) and fordern ([ˈfɔʁdɐn]) 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 29595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foltern is recorded at frequency rank #27,302, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔltɐn]. fordern is at rank #2,293, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfɔʁdɐn].
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 29595, this pair ranks #1,763,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of foltern vs fordern
Shared letters: efnor. Private to "foltern": lt. Private to "fordern": d.
"foltern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "fordern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foltern" for "fordern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "foltern" or "fordern"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "foltern" and "fordern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "foltern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fordern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,763,904 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foltern" and "fordern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Flyern vs foltern". 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 #1,763,904 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.