Which to use
“Foul” and “Fouls” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,991
- “Foul” frequency rank
- #48,153
- “Fouls” frequency rank
- 65144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Foul | Fouls |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Regelverstoß, bei dem der Gegenspieler mit unfairen und unsportlichen Mitteln benachteiligt wird | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Foul |
Where the eye mixes Foul and Fouls
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Foul runs 4 letters (CVVC) against Fouls's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Foul with Fouls
A purely visual mix-up. Foul ([faʊ̯l]) and Fouls ([faʊ̯ls]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Foul” sits inside “Fouls”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Foul is recorded at frequency rank #16,991, classified as anoun, pronounced [faʊ̯l]. Fouls is at rank #48,153, tagged as anoun, pronounced [faʊ̯ls].
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 65144, this pair ranks #617,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Foul vs Fouls
Shared letters: flou. Private to "Foul": -. Private to "Fouls": s.
"Foul" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Fouls" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Foul" and "Fouls" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Foul" or "Fouls"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Foul" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Fouls" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #617,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Foul" and "Fouls" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fils vs Fouls". 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 #617,047 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.