PorträtvsPorträtsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,610
“Porträt” frequency rank
#15,722
“Porträts” frequency rank
24332
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Porträt Porträts
Definition eine Darstellung einer Person, meist in Form eines Gemäldes Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Porträt

Where the eye mixes Porträt and Porträts

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Porträt runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Porträts's 8 (CVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Porträt
8 ch
Porträts

Look-alike desk: Porträt vs Porträts

A purely visual mix-up. Porträt ([pɔʁˈtʁɛː]) and Porträts ([pɔʁˈtʁɛːs]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Porträt” sits inside “Porträts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24332, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Porträt is recorded at frequency rank #8,610, classified as anoun, pronounced [pɔʁˈtʁɛː]. Porträts is at rank #15,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced [pɔʁˈtʁɛːs].

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 24332, this pair ranks #1,849,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Porträt vs Porträts

Shared letters: oprtä. Private to "Porträt": -. Private to "Porträts": s.

"Porträt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Porträts" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Porträt" and "Porträts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɔʁˈtʁɛː] versus [pɔʁˈtʁɛːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Porträt" or "Porträts" show up more?
"Porträt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,610 in our German list, against #15,722 for "Porträts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Porträt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Porträts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,849,103 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Porträt" and "Porträts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Portals vs Porträts". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,849,103 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