TochtervsTöchternConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#726
“Tochter” frequency rank
#17,161
“Töchtern” frequency rank
17887
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tochter Töchtern
Definition weiblicher, direkter Nachkomme, direkte Nachkommin Dativ Plural des Substantivs Tochter

Where the eye mixes Tochter and Töchtern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Tochter runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Töchtern's 8 (CVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Tochter
8 ch
Töchtern

Visual trap between Tochter and Töchtern

A purely visual mix-up. Tochter ([ˈtɔxtɐ]) and Töchtern ([ˈtœçtɐn]) 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 17887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tochter is recorded at frequency rank #726, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtɔxtɐ]. Töchtern is at rank #17,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtœçtɐn].

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 17887, this pair ranks #1,923,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Tochter vs Töchtern

Shared letters: cehrt. Private to "Tochter": o. Private to "Töchtern": nö.

"Tochter" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Töchtern" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Tochter ← otchter · tcohter · tocchter · tochetr · tochhter · tochterr · tochtre · tochtter

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Tochter" and "Töchtern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɔxtɐ] versus [ˈtœçtɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Tochter" vs "Töchtern" - which ranks higher?
"Tochter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #726 in our German list, against #17,161 for "Töchtern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Tochter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Töchtern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,923,357 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Tochter" and "Töchtern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Töchtern vs Tüchern". 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 #1,923,357 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