ForstvsFörsterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,365
“Forst” frequency rank
#13,363
“Förster” frequency rank
21728
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Forst Förster
Definition zum Zwecke der Nutzung (Jagd, Holzgewinnung) von Menschen gepflegter Waldabschnitt, der einer geregelten Forstwirtschaft unterliegt beruflich mit der Verwaltung und Bewirtschaftung eines Walds und des dortigen Wilds betraute Person

Where the eye mixes Forst and Förster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Forst
7 ch
Förster

Why the eye confuses Forst with Förster

A purely visual mix-up. Forst ([fɔʁst]) and Förster ([ˈfœʁstɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Forst is recorded at frequency rank #8,365, classified as anoun, pronounced [fɔʁst]. Förster is at rank #13,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfœʁstɐ].

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 21728, this pair ranks #1,882,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Forst vs Förster

Shared letters: frst. Private to "Forst": o. Private to "Förster": .

"Forst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Förster" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Forstfforst · forrst · forsst · forstt · forts · fosrt · ofrst

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Forst" and "Förster" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([fɔʁst] versus [ˈfœʁstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Forst" or "Förster"?
"Forst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,365 in our German list, against #13,363 for "Förster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Forst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Förster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,882,844 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Forst" and "Förster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fist vs Forst". 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 #1,882,844 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list