Which to use
“oc” and “ox” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,989
- “oc” frequency rank
- #44,121
- “ox” frequency rank
- 71110
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | oc | ox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der Gänserich, der Ganter; ein männlicher großer Vogel | der Ochse |
Where the eye mixes oc and ox
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses oc with ox
A purely visual mix-up. oc ([ɔk]) and ox ([ɒks]) 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 a single letter - c in “oc” becomes x in “ox”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71110, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
oc is recorded at frequency rank #26,989, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɔk]. ox is at rank #44,121, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɒks].
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 71110, this pair ranks #426,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of oc vs ox
Shared letters: o. Private to "oc": c. Private to "ox": x.
"oc" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ox" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "oc" and "ox" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "oc" or "ox" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "oc" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ox" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "oc" and "ox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "OGH vs ox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #426,415 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.