Otto

[ˈɔto]

/[ˈɔto]/ name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Otto” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,170) as a proper noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,170
frequency rank, German
1,007
“O” headwords
2
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - männlicher Vorname

Corpus desk

Index DE-otto · Otto · German

Otto · rank #2,170 · 2 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,170
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 2 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,007
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nutzung

Nearest frequency peer: Nutzung (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „Otto“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „Otto“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Otto vs Out
50% similar
Otto vs Outs
50% similar
Otto vs Ottos
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Otto
PropertyValue
HeadwordOtto
LanguageGerman
Part of speechProper noun
IPA[ˈɔto]
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,170
Misspellings tracked2
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „Otto“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Ottoliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Nutzung“ (#2,169), „Papier“ (#2,171), „Nutzer“ (#2,168). Unter 1,007 „O“-Lemmata liegt „Otto“ bei #2,170. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Otto is neighbouring look-alikes ("Out", "Outs", …), not just typos; it is aproper noun pronounced [ˈɔto]. Frequency #2,170 among 1,007 “O” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 2 likely wrong-spelling variants for Otto, including "oto" and "otot". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Out", "Outs", "Ottos", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is Otto, spelled O-T-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    männlicher Vorname
  2. 2
    Mensch, der etwas falsch macht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Otto appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Otto ist ein sehr guter Skatspieler.
  2. Ey, ihr Ottos! Was soll das denn?

This word in other languages

Otto(English)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oto
  • otot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Otto - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

oto1otot2
Edit distance from "Otto"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Otto"?
"Otto" is spelled O-T-T-O. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈɔto].
What does "Otto" mean?
As a proper noun, "Otto" means: männlicher Vorname
What words are commonly confused with "Otto"?
"Otto" is commonly confused with "Out", "Outs", "Ottos". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Otto"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Otto" is [ˈɔto]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Otto" come from?
"Otto" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Otto", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sitz#2,177Gast#2,150Dame#2,198fuhr#2,202

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list