Which to use
“Forsten” is an unknown and “foster” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,529
- “Forsten” frequency rank
- #18,247
- “foster” frequency rank
- 50776
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Forsten | foster |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural 1: **Dativ Plural des Substantivs Forst | nähren, pflegen, aufziehen |
Where the eye mixes Forsten and foster
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Forsten and foster
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Forsten is [ˈfɔʁstn̩] while foster is [fɒstə(r)]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Forsten is recorded at frequency rank #32,529, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈfɔʁstn̩]. foster is at rank #18,247, tagged as averb, pronounced [fɒstə(r)].
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 50776, this pair ranks #1,160,946 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Forsten vs foster
Shared letters: eforst. Private to "Forsten": n. Private to "foster": -.
"Forsten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "foster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Forsten" and "foster" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Forsten" or "foster"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Forsten" and "foster" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Forsten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,160,946 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Forsten" and "foster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fassten vs Forsten". 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 #1,160,946 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.