Which to use
“Otter” and “Ottos” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,946
- “Otter” frequency rank
- #29,271
- “Ottos” frequency rank
- 65217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Otter | Ottos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleines Säugetier, das im und am Wasser lebt und zur Familie der Marder gehört | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Otto |
Where the eye mixes Otter and Ottos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Otter and Ottos
A purely visual mix-up. Otter ([ˈɔtɐ]) and Ottos ([ˈɔtos]) 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 65217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Otter is recorded at frequency rank #35,946, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔtɐ]. Ottos is at rank #29,271, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔtos].
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 65217, this pair ranks #614,515 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Otter vs Ottos
Shared letters: ot. Private to "Otter": er. Private to "Ottos": s.
"Otter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "Ottos" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Otter" and "Ottos" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Otter" or "Ottos"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Otter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Ottos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #614,515 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Otter" and "Ottos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ottos 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 #614,515 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.