PfotevsponteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#40,136
“Pfote” frequency rank
#44,853
“ponte” frequency rank
84989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Pfote ponte
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 die Brücke

Letter map: Pfote vs ponte

Shared letters muted; letters that set Pfote and ponte apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. Pfote (CCVCV) and ponte (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Pfote
5 ch
ponte

Pair insight - Pfote / ponte

Pfote and ponte are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84989, 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]. ponte is at rank #44,853, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 84989, this pair ranks #115,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Pfote vs ponte

Shared letters: eopt. Private to "Pfote": f. Private to "ponte": n.

"Pfote" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "ponte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Pfote ← fpote · pffote · pfoet · pfotte · pftoe · pofte · ppfote
  • ponte ← opnte · pnote · ponet · ponnte · pontte · potne · pponte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Pfote" and "ponte" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "Pfote" vs "ponte" - which ranks higher?
"Pfote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,136 in our German list, against #44,853 for "ponte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Pfote" and "ponte".

  • Full dictionary entry for "Pfote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ponte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #115,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Pfote" and "ponte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ponte vs puzzles". 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 #115,159 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