Which to use
“ob” is a conjunction and “Ott” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #139
- “ob” frequency rank
- #16,244
- “Ott” frequency rank
- 16383
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ob | Ott |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | leitet indirekte Fragesätze sowie Ungewissheit, Zweifel oder dergleichen ausdrückende Nebensätze ein (in Form von Subjekt-, Objekt- und Attributsätzen) | deutscher Familienname |
Where the eye mixes ob and Ott
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ob and Ott
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ob is [ɔp] while Ott is [ɔt]. 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 (conjunction vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16383, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ob is recorded at frequency rank #139, classified as aconj, pronounced [ɔp]. Ott is at rank #16,244, tagged as aname, pronounced [ɔt].
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 16383, this pair ranks #1,936,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ob vs Ott
Shared letters: o. Private to "ob": b. Private to "Ott": t.
"ob" · 2 letters · shape VC · "Ott" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ob" for "Ott" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ob" vs "Ott" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ott" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,936,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ob" and "Ott" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "OGH vs Ott". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,936,298 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.