ochsvsOutsWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

“ochs” is a verb and “Outs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,939
“ochs” frequency rank
#45,496
“Outs” frequency rank
81435
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ochs Outs
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ochsen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Out

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
ochs
4 ch
Outs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ochs is [ɔks] while Outs is [aʊ̯t͡s]. 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 81435, 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]. Outs is at rank #45,496, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aʊ̯t͡s].

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 81435, this pair ranks #175,913 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ochs vs Outs

Shared letters: os. Private to "ochs": ch. Private to "Outs": tu.

"ochs" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "Outs" · 4 letters · shape VVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ochscohs · occhs · ochhs · ochss · ocsh · ohcs
  • Outsotus · oust · outss · outts · uots

Frequency comparison

ochs#35,939
Outs#45,496

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ochs" and "Outs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ochs" is a verb and "Outs" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ochs" or "Outs"?
"ochs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,939 in our German list, against #45,496 for "Outs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ochs vs Outs

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 “Outs”.
  • 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