PfortevsPfoteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#22,466
“Pforte” frequency rank
#40,136
“Pfote” frequency rank
62602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pforte Pfote
Definition kleine Tür, Eingangstor (mit Ausnahme der Huftiere – vom Rind, Schaf, Schwein abgesehen, deren Extremitäten gelegentlich »Pfoten« anstatt »Klauen« genannt werden – und Primaten) bei landlebenden Säugetieren (zumeist Raubtieren) in Zehen gespaltenes Ende der Extremitäten

Where the eye mixes Pforte and Pfote

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Pforte runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Pfote's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Pforte
5 ch
Pfote

Visual trap between Pforte and Pfote

A purely visual mix-up. Pforte ([ˈp͡fɔʁtə]) and Pfote ([ˈp͡foːtə]) 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 62602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pforte is recorded at frequency rank #22,466, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡fɔʁtə]. Pfote is at rank #40,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡foːtə].

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 62602, this pair ranks #706,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pforte vs Pfote

Shared letters: efopt. Private to "Pforte": r. Private to "Pfote": -.

"Pforte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Pfote" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pforte ← fporte · pfforte · pforet · pforrte · pfortte · pfotre · pfrote · pofrte
  • Pfote ← fpote · pffote · pfoet · pfotte · pftoe · pofte · ppfote

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pforte" and "Pfote" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡fɔʁtə] versus [ˈp͡foːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Pforte" or "Pfote"?
"Pforte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,466 in our German list, against #40,136 for "Pfote". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pforte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #706,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pforte" and "Pfote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pfote vs ponte". 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 #706,856 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