OpusvsOutsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,690
“Opus” frequency rank
#45,496
“Outs” frequency rank
66186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Opus Outs
Definition Werk eines Künstlers/Wissenschaftlers Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Out

Where the eye mixes Opus and Outs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Opus
4 ch
Outs

Why the eye confuses Opus with Outs

A purely visual mix-up. Opus ([ˈoːpʊs]) and Outs ([aʊ̯t͡s]) 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 66186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Opus is recorded at frequency rank #20,690, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈoːpʊs]. 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 66186, this pair ranks #581,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Opus vs Outs

Shared letters: osu. Private to "Opus": p. Private to "Outs": t.

"Opus" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Outs" · 4 letters · shape VVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Opusoppus · opsu · opuss · oups · pous
  • Outsotus · oust · outss · outts · uots

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Opus" and "Outs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈoːpʊs] versus [aʊ̯t͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Opus" vs "Outs" - which ranks higher?
"Opus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,690 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.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Opus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Outs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #581,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Opus" and "Outs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ones vs Outs". 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 #581,687 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