OpervsOpusConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,455
“Oper” frequency rank
#20,690
“Opus” frequency rank
25145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Oper Opus
Definition Gattungsbezeichnung für dramatische Bühnenwerke, deren Handlung durch Gesang und Instrumentalmusik dargestellt wird Werk eines Künstlers/Wissenschaftlers

Where the eye mixes Oper and Opus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Oper
4 ch
Opus

Look-alike desk: Oper vs Opus

A purely visual mix-up. Oper ([ˈoːpɐ]) and Opus ([ˈoːpʊs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Oper is recorded at frequency rank #4,455, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈoːpɐ]. 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 25145, this pair ranks #1,837,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Oper vs Opus

Shared letters: op. Private to "Oper": er. Private to "Opus": su.

"Oper" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Opus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Operoepr · operr · opper · opre · poer
  • Opusoppus · opsu · opuss · oups · pous

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Oper" and "Opus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈoːpɐ] versus [ˈoːpʊs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Oper" or "Opus"?
"Oper" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,455 in our German list, against #20,690 for "Opus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Oper" 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 #1,837,492 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Oper" and "Opus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Opal vs Opus". 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 #1,837,492 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