portavsPorträtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: porta is a verb, Porträt is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“porta” is a verb and “Porträt” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,373
“porta” frequency rank
#8,610
“Porträt” frequency rank
28983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature porta Porträt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ historisches Perfekt Aktiv des Verbs porter eine Darstellung einer Person, meist in Form eines Gemäldes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set porta and Porträt apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
porta
7 ch
Porträt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: porta is [pɔʁ.ta] while Porträt is [pɔʁˈtʁɛː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

porta is recorded at frequency rank #20,373, classified as averb, pronounced [pɔʁ.ta]. Porträt is at rank #8,610, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɔʁˈtʁɛː].

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 28983, this pair ranks #1,775,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of porta vs Porträt

Shared letters: oprt. Private to "porta": a. Private to "Porträt": ä.

"porta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Porträt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • portaoprta · porat · porrta · portta · potra · pporta · prota

Frequency comparison

porta#20,373
Porträt#8,610

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "porta" and "Porträt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "porta" is a verb and "Porträt" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "porta" or "Porträt"?
"Porträt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,610 in our German list, against #20,373 for "porta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering porta vs Porträt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “porta”; for a noun, it's “Porträt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “porta” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list