VorhautvsVorlaufTell them apart

Which to use

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

#33,384
“Vorhaut” frequency rank
#22,957
“Vorlauf” frequency rank
56341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorhaut Vorlauf
Definition Falte des Hüllorgans am äußeren Teil des männlichen Geschlechtsorgans die normale Laufrichtung

Where the eye mixes Vorhaut and Vorlauf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Vorhaut and Vorlauf follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Vorhaut
7 ch
Vorlauf

Look-alike desk: Vorhaut vs Vorlauf

A purely visual mix-up. Vorhaut ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaʊ̯t]) and Vorlauf ([ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorhaut is recorded at frequency rank #33,384, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaʊ̯t]. Vorlauf is at rank #22,957, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f].

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 56341, this pair ranks #944,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Vorhaut vs Vorlauf

Shared letters: aoruv. Private to "Vorhaut": ht. Private to "Vorlauf": fl.

"Vorhaut" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "Vorlauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorhaut ← ovrhaut · vohraut · vorahut · vorhatu · vorhautt · vorhhaut · vorhuat · vorrhaut
  • Vorlauf ← ovrlauf · volrauf · voraluf · vorlafu · vorlauff · vorllauf · vorluaf · vorrlauf

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vorhaut" and "Vorlauf" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌhaʊ̯t] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Vorhaut" vs "Vorlauf" - which ranks higher?
"Vorlauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,957 in our German list, against #33,384 for "Vorhaut". 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 "Vorhaut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorlauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #944,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vorhaut" and "Vorlauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorbau vs Vorhaut". 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 #944,022 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