Which to use
“foster” is a verb and “foyer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,247
- “foster” frequency rank
- #18,887
- “foyer” frequency rank
- 37134
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foster | foyer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nähren, pflegen, aufziehen | Flur, Eingangsbereich, Diele |
Where the eye mixes foster and foyer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between foster and foyer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foster is [fɒstə(r)] while foyer is [ˈfɔɪ.eɪ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foster is recorded at frequency rank #18,247, classified as averb, pronounced [fɒstə(r)]. foyer is at rank #18,887, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfɔɪ.eɪ].
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 37134, this pair ranks #1,597,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of foster vs foyer
Shared letters: efor. Private to "foster": st. Private to "foyer": y.
"foster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "foyer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "foster" and "foyer" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "foster" vs "foyer" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "foster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foyer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,597,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foster" and "foyer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Flyern vs foyer". 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 #1,597,971 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.