PolstervsPolyesterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,660
“Polster” frequency rank
#45,518
“Polyester” frequency rank
64178
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Polster Polyester
Definition Kissen im Bett Polymer mit Esterfunktionen –[–CO–O–]– in seiner Hauptkette

Where the eye mixes Polster and Polyester

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Polster
9 ch
Polyester

Look-alike desk: Polster vs Polyester

A purely visual mix-up. Polster ([ˈpɔlstɐ]) and Polyester ([poˈli̯ɛstɐ]) 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 64178, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Polster is recorded at frequency rank #18,660, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɔlstɐ]. Polyester is at rank #45,518, tagged as anoun, pronounced [poˈli̯ɛstɐ].

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 64178, this pair ranks #650,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Polster vs Polyester

Shared letters: eloprst. Private to "Polster": -. Private to "Polyester": y.

"Polster" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Polyester" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Polsteroplster · ploster · pollster · polsetr · polsster · polsterr · polstre · polstter
  • Polyesteroplyester · ployester · poleyster · pollyester · polyesetr · polyesster · polyesterr · polyestre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Polster" and "Polyester" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpɔlstɐ] versus [poˈli̯ɛstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Polster" vs "Polyester" - which ranks higher?
"Polster" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,660 in our German list, against #45,518 for "Polyester". 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 "Polster" and "Polyester" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Polster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Polyester" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #650,697 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Polster" and "Polyester" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Polster vs posted". 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 #650,697 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