Which to use
“ochs” is a verb and “Opus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,939
- “ochs” frequency rank
- #20,690
- “Opus” frequency rank
- 56629
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ochs | Opus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ochsen | Werk eines Künstlers/Wissenschaftlers |
Where the eye mixes ochs and Opus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ochs (VCCC) and Opus (VCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses ochs with Opus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ochs is [ɔks] while Opus is [ˈoːpʊs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56629, 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]. Opus is at rank #20,690, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈoːpʊs].
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 56629, this pair ranks #932,884 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ochs vs Opus
Shared letters: os. Private to "ochs": ch. Private to "Opus": pu.
"ochs" · 4 letters · shape VCCC · "Opus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ochs" and "Opus" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "ochs" or "Opus" show up more?
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 "ochs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Opus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #932,884 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ochs" and "Opus" 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 #932,884 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.