TrossvstrotzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Tross is a noun, trotz is a preposition, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Tross” is a noun and “trotz” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,876
“Tross” frequency rank
#624
“trotz” frequency rank
43500
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Tross trotz
Definition unterstützende Versorgungs- und Transporteinheit für die militärische Truppe ungeachtet eines bestimmten Umstandes; ohne Rücksicht auf etwas; einer Sache zum Trotz

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Tross and trotz apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Tross
5 ch
trotz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Tross is [tʁɔs] while trotz is [tʁɔt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Tross is recorded at frequency rank #42,876, classified as anoun, pronounced [tʁɔs]. trotz is at rank #624, tagged as aprep, pronounced [tʁɔt͡s].

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 43500, this pair ranks #1,416,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Tross vs trotz

Shared letters: ort. Private to "Tross": s. Private to "trotz": z.

"Tross" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "trotz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Trossrtoss · torss · tros · troß · trross · trsos · ttross
  • trotzrtotz · tortz · trottz · trotzz · trozt · trrotz · trtoz · ttrotz

Frequency comparison

Tross#42,876
trotz#624

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Tross" and "trotz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Tross" is a noun and "trotz" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Tross" or "trotz"?
"trotz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #624 in our German list, against #42,876 for "Tross". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Tross vs trotz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Tross”; for a preposition, it's “trotz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Tross” 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