cockvscordWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,029
“cock” frequency rank
#36,862
“cord” frequency rank
74891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cock cord
Definition männliches Huhn längliches aus etwas zusammengedrehtes Ding, das beispielsweise als Gürtel getragen wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cock and cord apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cock
4 ch
cord

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cock ([kɒk]) and cord ([kɔː(r)d]) 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 74891, 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]. cord is at rank #36,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɔː(r)d].

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 74891, this pair ranks #321,748 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cock vs cord

Shared letters: co. Private to "cock": k. Private to "cord": dr.

"cock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "cord" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cockccock · ccok · cocck · cockk · cokc · occk
  • cordccord · codr · cordd · corrd · crod · ocrd

Frequency comparison

cock#38,029
cord#36,862

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cock" and "cord" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kɒk] versus [kɔː(r)d]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cock" or "cord"?
"cord" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,862 in our German list, against #38,029 for "cock". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cock vs cord

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cock” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list