fortan vs fortune, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“fortan” is an adverb and “fortune” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,366
“fortan” frequency rank: #30,054
“fortune” frequency rank: 38420
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	fortan	fortune
Definition	ab jetzt, von jetzt an, ab sofort, in Zukunft	Schicksal, Zukunft

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fortan and fortune apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

fortan

7 ch

fortune

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fortan is anadverb and fortuneanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fortan is recorded at frequency rank #8,366, classified as anadv, pronounced [fɔʁtˈʔan]. fortune is at rank #30,054, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 38420, this pair ranks #1,564,448 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fortan vs fortune

Shared letters: fnort. Private to "fortan": a. Private to "fortune": eu.

"fortan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fortune" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

fortan ← ffortan · foratn · forrtan · fortann · fortna · forttan · fotran · frotan
fortune ← ffortune · forrtune · fortnue · forttune · fortuen · fortunne · forutne · fotrune

Frequency comparison

fortan#8,366

fortune#30,054

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fortan" and "fortune" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fortan" is an adverb and "fortune" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "fortan" or "fortune"?

"fortan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,366 in our German list, against #30,054 for "fortune". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fortan vs fortune

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “fortan”; for a noun, it's “fortune”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fortan” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable