Which to use
“Pfote” and “Puste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,136
- “Pfote” frequency rank
- #37,146
- “Puste” frequency rank
- 77282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pfote | Puste |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Fähigkeit von Lunge, Herz und Kreislauf, dem Körper Sauerstoff zu liefern |
Where the eye mixes Pfote and Puste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Pfote (CCVCV) and Puste (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Pfote and Puste
A purely visual mix-up. Pfote ([ˈp͡foːtə]) and Puste ([ˈpuːstə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77282, 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]. Puste is at rank #37,146, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpuːstə].
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 77282, this pair ranks #264,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Pfote vs Puste
Shared letters: ept. Private to "Pfote": fo. Private to "Puste": su.
"Pfote" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "Puste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Pfote" for "Puste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Pfote" or "Puste" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Pfote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Puste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pfote" and "Puste" 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 #264,345 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.