VorschriftvsVorschriftenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,357
“Vorschrift” frequency rank
#4,012
“Vorschriften” frequency rank
15369
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorschrift Vorschriften
Definition Anweisung, die man befolgen muss Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Vorschrift

Where the eye mixes Vorschrift and Vorschriften

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Vorschrift runs 10 letters (CVCCCCCVCC) against Vorschriften's 12 (CVCCCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Vorschrift
12 ch
Vorschriften

Why the eye confuses Vorschrift with Vorschriften

A purely visual mix-up. Vorschrift ([ˈfoːɐ̯ʃʁɪft]) and Vorschriften ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁɪftn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Vorschrift” sits inside “Vorschriften”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorschrift is recorded at frequency rank #11,357, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ʃʁɪft]. Vorschriften is at rank #4,012, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁɪftn̩].

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 15369, this pair ranks #1,944,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Vorschrift vs Vorschriften

Shared letters: cfhiorstv. Private to "Vorschrift": -. Private to "Vorschriften": en.

"Vorschrift" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCC  ·  "Vorschriften" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorschrift ← ovrschrift · vorcshrift · vorrschrift · vorscchrift · vorschhrift · vorschirft · vorschrfit · vorschrifft
  • Vorschriften ← ovrschriften · vorcshriften · vorrschriften · vorscchriften · vorschhriften · vorschirften · vorschrfiten · vorschrifetn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vorschrift" and "Vorschriften" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ʃʁɪft] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌʃʁɪftn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Vorschrift" or "Vorschriften"?
"Vorschriften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,012 in our German list, against #11,357 for "Vorschrift". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorschrift" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorschriften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,944,410 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Vorschrift" and "Vorschriften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorschreibt vs Vorschrift". 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 #1,944,410 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