BackupvsBackupsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,035
“Backup” frequency rank
#35,645
“Backups” frequency rank
50680
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Backup Backups
Definition Abbild eines (Daten-)Speichers mit dem Zweck, den Inhalt dessen, falls er beschädigt oder zerstört worden ist, wiederherzustellen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Backup

Where the eye mixes Backup and Backups

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Backup
7 ch
Backups

Look-alike desk: Backup vs Backups

A purely visual mix-up. Backup ([ˈbɛkʔap]) and Backups ([ˈbɛkʔaps]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Backup” sits inside “Backups”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Backup is recorded at frequency rank #15,035, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɛkʔap]. Backups is at rank #35,645, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɛkʔaps].

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 50680, this pair ranks #1,164,580 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Backup vs Backups

Shared letters: abckpu. Private to "Backup": -. Private to "Backups": s.

"Backup" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Backups" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Backupabckup · bacckup · backkup · backpu · backupp · bacukp · bakcup · bbackup
  • Backupsabckups · bacckups · backkups · backpus · backupps · backupss · backusp · bacukps

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Backup" and "Backups" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɛkʔap] versus [ˈbɛkʔaps]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Backup" or "Backups"?
"Backup" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,035 in our German list, against #35,645 for "Backups". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Backup" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Backups" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,164,580 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Backup" and "Backups" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Backup vs Beckum". 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 #1,164,580 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