jovsJobWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: jo is a particle, Job is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“jo” is a particle and “Job” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,460
“jo” frequency rank
#718
“Job” frequency rank
4178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jo Job
Definition nein Arbeitsplatz, Stellung (Anstellung) für eine (vorübergehende) einträgliche Beschäftigung zum Zweck des Gelderwerbs

Where the eye mixes jo and Job

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

2 ch
jo
3 ch
Job

Look-alike desk: jo vs Job

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: jo is [jɔ] while Job is [d͡ʒɔp]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “jo” sits inside “Job”, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jo is recorded at frequency rank #3,460, classified as aparticle, pronounced [jɔ]. Job is at rank #718, tagged as anoun, pronounced [d͡ʒɔp].

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 4178, this pair ranks #1,998,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of jo vs Job

Shared letters: jo. Private to "jo": -. Private to "Job": b.

"jo" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "Job" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "jo" for "Job" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "jo" is a particle and "Job" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "jo" vs "Job" - which ranks higher?
"Job" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #718 in our German list, against #3,460 for "jo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "jo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Job" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,998,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jo" and "Job" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jn vs jo". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,998,378 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