VorausvsVorbauWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,370
“Voraus” frequency rank
#47,107
“Vorbau” frequency rank
49477
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Voraus Vorbau
Definition Erbe (Nachlass), das vor Eintritt des Todes an den Erben übertragen wird Gebäudeteil, der aus dem eigentlichen Kerngebäude herausragt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Voraus and Vorbau apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Voraus
6 ch
Vorbau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Voraus ([foˈʁaʊ̯s]) and Vorbau ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49477, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Voraus is recorded at frequency rank #2,370, classified as anoun, pronounced [foˈʁaʊ̯s]. Vorbau is at rank #47,107, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯].

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 49477, this pair ranks #1,210,068 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Voraus vs Vorbau

Shared letters: aoruv. Private to "Voraus": s. Private to "Vorbau": b.

"Voraus" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "Vorbau" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorausovraus · voarus · vorasu · vorauss · vorraus · voruas · vroaus · vvoraus
  • Vorbauovrbau · vobrau · vorabu · vorbbau · vorbua · vorrbau · vrobau · vvorbau

Frequency comparison

Voraus#2,370
Vorbau#47,107

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Voraus" and "Vorbau" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([foˈʁaʊ̯s] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Voraus" or "Vorbau"?
"Voraus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,370 in our German list, against #47,107 for "Vorbau". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Voraus vs Vorbau

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 “Voraus” 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