footvsFoulWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,657
“foot” frequency rank
#16,991
“Foul” frequency rank
51648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature foot Foul
Definition unterste Teil des Beines; Fuß Regelverstoß, bei dem der Gegenspieler mit unfairen und unsportlichen Mitteln benachteiligt wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set foot and Foul apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
foot
4 ch
Foul

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. foot ([fʊt]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

foot is recorded at frequency rank #34,657, classified as anoun, pronounced [fʊt]. 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 51648, this pair ranks #1,127,524 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of foot vs Foul

Shared letters: fo. Private to "foot": t. Private to "Foul": lu.

"foot" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Foul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • footffoot · foott · fot · ofot
  • Foulffoul · folu · foull · fuol · oful

Frequency comparison

foot#34,657
Foul#16,991

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "foot" and "Foul" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fʊt] versus [faʊ̯l]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "foot" or "Foul"?
"Foul" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,991 in our German list, against #34,657 for "foot". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering foot vs Foul

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “foot” 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