cockvsCodeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#38,029
“cock” frequency rank
#2,434
“Code” frequency rank
40463
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cock Code
Definition männliches Huhn ein System von Übereinkünften, das die eindeutige Zuordnung von Zeichen und Zeichenfolgen zweier verschiedener Zeichensysteme festlegt oder auch ein solches Zeichensystem selbst

Where the eye mixes cock and Code

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
cock
4 ch
Code

Look-alike desk: cock vs Code

A purely visual mix-up. cock ([kɒk]) and Code ([koːt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cock is recorded at frequency rank #38,029, classified as anoun, pronounced [kɒk]. Code is at rank #2,434, tagged as anoun, pronounced [koːt].

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 40463, this pair ranks #1,507,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cock vs Code

Shared letters: co. Private to "cock": k. Private to "Code": de.

"cock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Code" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cockccock · ccok · cocck · cockk · cokc · occk
  • Codeccode · cdoe · codde · coed · ocde

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cock" and "Code" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([kɒk] versus [koːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cock" or "Code"?
"Code" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,434 in our German list, against #38,029 for "cock". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Code" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,507,750 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cock" and "Code" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clock vs cock". 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 #1,507,750 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