portraitvsPorträtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,897
“portrait” frequency rank
#8,610
“Porträt” frequency rank
23507
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature portrait Porträt
Definition Porträt eine Darstellung einer Person, meist in Form eines Gemäldes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set portrait and Porträt apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
portrait
7 ch
Porträt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. portrait ([ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɹət]) and Porträt ([pɔʁˈtʁɛː]) 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 23507, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

portrait is recorded at frequency rank #14,897, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɹət]. 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 23507, this pair ranks #1,860,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of portrait vs Porträt

Shared letters: oprt. Private to "portrait": ai. Private to "Porträt": ä.

"portrait" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC  ·  "Porträt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • portraitoprtrait · porrtait · porrtrait · portarit · portraitt · portrati · portriat · portrrait

Frequency comparison

portrait#14,897
Porträt#8,610

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "portrait" and "Porträt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈpɔː(ɹ)tɹət] versus [pɔʁˈtʁɛː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "portrait" or "Porträt"?
"Porträt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,610 in our German list, against #14,897 for "portrait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering portrait vs Porträt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “portrait” 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