Which to use
“ochs” is a verb and “ons” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,939
- “ochs” frequency rank
- #30,227
- “ons” frequency rank
- 66166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ochs | ons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ochsen | Erste Person plural : unser |
Letter map: ochs vs ons
Shared letters muted; letters that set ochs and ons apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. ochs runs 4 letters (VCCC) against ons's 3 (VCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: ochs vs ons
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ochs is averb and onsapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ochs is recorded at frequency rank #35,939, classified as averb, pronounced [ɔks]. ons is at rank #30,227, tagged as apron.
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 66166, this pair ranks #582,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ochs vs ons
Shared letters: os. Private to "ochs": ch. Private to "ons": n.
"ochs" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "ons" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ochs ← cohs · occhs · ochhs · ochss · ocsh · ohcs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ochs" for "ons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ochs" or "ons"?
Useful next steps
Pair "ochs" vs "ons" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "ochs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #582,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ochs" and "ons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ochs vs OGH". 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 #582,426 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.