PfotevsPfützeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,136
“Pfote” frequency rank
#36,549
“Pfütze” frequency rank
76685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfote Pfütze
Definition (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 kleine Flüssigkeitsansammlung, insbesondere von Regenwasser

Where the eye mixes Pfote and Pfütze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Pfote runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against Pfütze's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Pfote
6 ch
Pfütze

Look-alike desk: Pfote vs Pfütze

A purely visual mix-up. Pfote ([ˈp͡foːtə]) and Pfütze ([ˈp͡fʏt͡sə]) 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 76685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Pfote is recorded at frequency rank #40,136, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡foːtə]. Pfütze is at rank #36,549, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈp͡fʏt͡sə].

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 76685, this pair ranks #278,096 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Pfote vs Pfütze

Shared letters: efpt. Private to "Pfote": o. Private to "Pfütze": zü.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfote ← fpote · pffote · pfoet · pfotte · pftoe · pofte · ppfote

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Pfote" and "Pfütze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈp͡foːtə] versus [ˈp͡fʏt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Pfote" or "Pfütze" show up more?
"Pfütze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,549 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

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfütze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #278,096 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfote" and "Pfütze" 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 #278,096 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