PfortenvsPfoteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,366
“Pforten” frequency rank
#40,136
“Pfote” frequency rank
60502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pforten Pfote
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Pforte (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 Pforten and Pfote

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Pforten runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Pfote's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Pforten
5 ch
Pfote

Visual trap between Pforten and Pfote

A purely visual mix-up. Pforten ([ˈp͡fɔʁtn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pforten is recorded at frequency rank #20,366, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡fɔʁtn̩]. 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 60502, this pair ranks #784,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Pforten vs Pfote

Shared letters: efopt. Private to "Pforten": nr. Private to "Pfote": -.

"Pforten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Pfote" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfortenfporten · pfforten · pforetn · pforrten · pfortenn · pfortne · pfortten · pfotren
  • Pfotefpote · pffote · pfoet · pfotte · pftoe · pofte · ppfote

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Pforten" for "Pfote" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡fɔʁtn̩] versus [ˈp͡foːtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Pforten" or "Pfote" show up more?
"Pforten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,366 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.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pforten" 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 #784,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pforten" 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 #784,614 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