copsvscopyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cops is a verb, copy is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cops” is a verb and “copy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,118
“cops” frequency rank
#25,499
“copy” frequency rank
38617
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cops copy
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs cop Nachbildung eines Bildes oder eines Textes; Kopie

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cops and copy apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cops
4 ch
copy

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cops and copy form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - s in “cops” becomes y in “copy” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cops is recorded at frequency rank #13,118, classified as averb, pronounced […]. copy is at rank #25,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 38617, this pair ranks #1,559,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

cops#13,118
copy#25,499

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cops" and "copy" be used interchangeably?
No, "cops" and "copy" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cops vs copy

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cops”; for a noun, it's “copy”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cops” 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