ForstervsfosterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Forster is a name, foster is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Forster and foster apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Forster
6 ch
foster

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • Forsterfforster · forrster · forsetr · forsster · forsterr · forstre · forstter · fortser
  • fosterffoster · fosetr · fosster · fosterr · fostre · fostter · fotser · fsoter

Frequency comparison

Forster#42,349
foster#17,141

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Forster" and "foster" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Forster" is a name and "foster" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Forster" or "foster"?
"foster" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,141 in our French list, against #42,349 for "Forster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Forster vs foster

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Forster”; for a verb, it's “foster”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Forster” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list