OrtungvsOutingConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#37,117
“Ortung” frequency rank
#44,120
“Outing” frequency rank
81237
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ortung Outing
Definition Vorgang der Bestimmung der Position von Objekten Handlung, sich zu etwas zu bekennen, speziell zur Homosexualität

Where the eye mixes Ortung and Outing

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Ortung
6 ch
Outing

Visual trap between Ortung and Outing

A purely visual mix-up. Ortung ([ˈɔʁtʊŋ]) and Outing ([ˈaʊ̯tɪŋ]) 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 81237, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ortung is recorded at frequency rank #37,117, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔʁtʊŋ]. Outing is at rank #44,120, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯tɪŋ].

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 81237, this pair ranks #179,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Ortung vs Outing

Shared letters: gnotu. Private to "Ortung": r. Private to "Outing": i.

"Ortung" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "Outing" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ortungorrtung · ortnug · orttung · ortugn · ortungg · ortunng · orutng · otrung
  • Outingotuing · ouitng · outign · outingg · outinng · outnig · outting · uoting

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ortung" and "Outing" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔʁtʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯tɪŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Ortung" vs "Outing" - which ranks higher?
"Ortung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,117 in our German list, against #44,120 for "Outing". 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 "Ortung" and "Outing" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ortung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Outing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #179,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ortung" and "Outing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "outen vs Outing". 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 #179,714 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