VorfahrtvsVorjahrWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,444
“Vorfahrt” frequency rank
#6,375
“Vorjahr” frequency rank
25819
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorfahrt Vorjahr
Definition Recht, bei sich kreuzenden Verkehrswegen seine Fahrt als Erster fortzusetzen das vorhergehende Jahr

Where the eye mixes Vorfahrt and Vorjahr

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

8 ch
Vorfahrt
7 ch
Vorjahr

Visual trap between Vorfahrt and Vorjahr

A purely visual mix-up. Vorfahrt ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfaːɐ̯t]) and Vorjahr ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌjaːɐ̯]) 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 25819, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorfahrt is recorded at frequency rank #19,444, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfaːɐ̯t]. Vorjahr is at rank #6,375, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌjaːɐ̯].

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 25819, this pair ranks #1,827,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vorfahrt vs Vorjahr

Shared letters: ahorv. Private to "Vorfahrt": ft. Private to "Vorjahr": j.

"Vorfahrt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "Vorjahr" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorfahrt ← ovrfahrt · vofrahrt · vorafhrt · vorfahhrt · vorfahrrt · vorfahrtt · vorfahtr · vorfarht
  • Vorjahr ← ovrjahr · vojrahr · vorajhr · vorjahhr · vorjahrr · vorjarh · vorjhar · vorjjahr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vorfahrt" and "Vorjahr" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌfaːɐ̯t] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌjaːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Vorfahrt" or "Vorjahr" show up more?
"Vorjahr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,375 in our German list, against #19,444 for "Vorfahrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Vorfahrt" and "Vorjahr" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorfahrt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorjahr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,827,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vorfahrt" and "Vorjahr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verjährt vs Vorfahrt". 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 #1,827,509 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