ochsvsOpusWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ochs is a verb, Opus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ochs and Opus apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
ochs
4 ch
Opus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • ochscohs · occhs · ochhs · ochss · ocsh · ohcs
  • Opusoppus · opsu · opuss · oups · pous

Frequency comparison

ochs#35,939
Opus#20,690

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ochs" and "Opus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ochs" is a verb and "Opus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ochs" or "Opus"?
"Opus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,690 in our German list, against #35,939 for "ochs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ochs vs Opus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ochs”; for a noun, it's “Opus”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ochs” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list