Which to use
“Obst” and “Ost” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,545
- “Obst” frequency rank
- #2,356
- “Ost” frequency rank
- 6901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Obst | Ost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | roh essbare, meist saftige Früchte, die von Bäumen, Sträuchern und mehrjährigen Stauden stammen, mit überwiegend süßlichem oder säuerlichem, „fruchtigem“ Geschmack | Kurzform für die Haupthimmelsrichtung Osten in der Navigation, Seefahrt |
Where the eye mixes Obst and Ost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Obst vs Ost
A purely visual mix-up. Obst ([oːpst]) and Ost ([ɔst]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Obst is recorded at frequency rank #4,545, classified as anoun, pronounced [oːpst]. Ost is at rank #2,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɔst].
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 6901, this pair ranks #1,990,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Obst vs Ost
Shared letters: ost. Private to "Obst": b. Private to "Ost": -.
"Obst" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "Ost" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Obst ← bost · obbst · obsst · obstt · obts · osbt
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Obst" and "Ost" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Obst" or "Ost"?
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 "Obst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,990,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Obst" and "Ost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "OGH vs Ost". 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 #1,990,079 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.