coinvscordWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,464
“coin” frequency rank
#36,862
“cord” frequency rank
77326
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature coin cord
Definition Winkel, Ecke längliches aus etwas zusammengedrehtes Ding, das beispielsweise als Gürtel getragen wird

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
coin
4 ch
cord

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. coin ([kwɛ̃]) 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 77326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coin is recorded at frequency rank #40,464, classified as anoun, pronounced [kwɛ̃]. 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 77326, this pair ranks #263,330 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of coin vs cord

Shared letters: co. Private to "coin": in. Private to "cord": dr.

"coin" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "cord" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • coinccoin · coinn · coni · ocin
  • cordccord · codr · cordd · corrd · crod · ocrd

Frequency comparison

coin#40,464
cord#36,862

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "coin" and "cord" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([kwɛ̃] versus [kɔː(r)d]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "coin" or "cord"?
"cord" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,862 in our German list, against #40,464 for "coin". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering coin 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 “coin” 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