OttosvsOutsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,271
“Ottos” frequency rank
#45,496
“Outs” frequency rank
74767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ottos Outs
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Otto Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Out

Where the eye mixes Ottos and Outs

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

5 ch
Ottos
4 ch
Outs

Visual trap between Ottos and Outs

A purely visual mix-up. Ottos ([ˈɔtos]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ottos is recorded at frequency rank #29,271, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈɔtos]. 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 74767, this pair ranks #324,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Ottos vs Outs

Shared letters: ost. Private to "Ottos": -. Private to "Outs": u.

"Ottos" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Outs" · 4 letters · shape VVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ottosotos · otots · ottoss · ottso · totos
  • Outsotus · oust · outss · outts · uots

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Ottos" for "Outs" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɔtos] versus [aʊ̯t͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Ottos" or "Outs"?
"Ottos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,271 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ottos" 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 #324,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ottos" 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 #324,910 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