OchsenvsOhrenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Ochsen” and “Ohren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#26,560
“Ochsen” frequency rank
#2,778
“Ohren” frequency rank
29338
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ochsen Ohren
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Ochse Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ohr

Where the eye mixes Ochsen and Ohren

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Ochsen runs 6 letters (VCCCVC) against Ohren's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Ochsen
5 ch
Ohren

Look-alike desk: Ochsen vs Ohren

A purely visual mix-up. Ochsen ([ˈɔksn̩]) and Ohren ([ˈoːʁən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ochsen is recorded at frequency rank #26,560, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔksn̩]. Ohren is at rank #2,778, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈoːʁən].

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 29338, this pair ranks #1,768,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ochsen vs Ohren

Shared letters: ehno. Private to "Ochsen": cs. Private to "Ohren": r.

"Ochsen" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "Ohren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ochsen ← cohsen · occhsen · ochesn · ochhsen · ochsenn · ochsne · ochssen · ocshen
  • Ohren ← horen · ohern · ohhren · ohrenn · ohrne · ohrren · orhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ochsen" and "Ohren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔksn̩] versus [ˈoːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ochsen" or "Ohren"?
"Ohren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,778 in our German list, against #26,560 for "Ochsen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Ochsen" and "Ohren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ochsen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ohren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,768,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ochsen" and "Ohren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Oasen vs Ochsen". 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 #1,768,669 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list