Which to use
“Forster” is a name and “foster” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,349
- “Forster” frequency rank
- #17,141
- “foster” frequency rank
- 59490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Forster | foster |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom de famille. | Alimenter, nourrir. |
Letter map: Forster vs foster
Shared letters muted; letters that set Forster and foster apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. Forster runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against foster's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Role in the sentence - Forster and foster
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Forster is aname and fosteraverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Forster is recorded at frequency rank #42,349, classified as aname. foster is at rank #17,141, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈfɒs.tə\.
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 59490, this pair ranks #102,839 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Forster vs foster
Shared letters: eforst. Private to "Forster": -. Private to "foster": -.
"Forster" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "foster" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Forster" and "foster" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "Forster" or "foster" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pair "Forster" vs "foster" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "Forster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #102,839 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Forster" and "foster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "formater vs Forster". 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 #102,839 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.